Chambana Sun

University of Illinois linebacker Dylan Rosiek has been named to the watch list for the 40th annual collegiate Dick Butkus Award, announced by the Butkus Foundation and the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) on Tuesday.

Instituted in 1985, the Butkus Award is a prestigious individual honor given annually to one player in college football who is deemed the most impactful linebacker. Named after Illinois alum and Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, the award was taken over by The Butkus Foundation in 2008 to honor both athletic achievement and community service. Since then, it has recognized outstanding linebackers at high school, college, and professional levels.

Notable previous winners from Illinois include Dana Howard in 1994 and Kevin Hardy in 1995. Recent recipients of the award are Payton Wilson from North Carolina State (2023), Jack Campbell from Iowa (2022), and Nakobe Dean from Georgia (2021).

Dylan Rosiek's inclusion on this year's watch list follows an impressive sophomore season where he earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors from both coaches and media. Rosiek played in all 12 games, starting eight, and led the Big Ten with four forced fumbles during the regular season—tying for third nationally. His performance also ranked him 14th in tackles within the Big Ten with a total of 82 tackles during the regular season.

Some highlights from Rosiek's previous season include a career-high 10 tackles against Nebraska on October 6, six tackles including two for loss at Purdue on September 30, nine tackles against Penn State on September 16, and eight solo tackles in his first career start versus Toledo on September 2.

As of August 13, other Illini players featured on various watch lists include Kaden Feagin for the Doak Walker Award; Zakhari Franklin for Comeback Player; Josh McCray for both Doak Walker and Comeback Player; Cole Rusk for John Mackey; and Kenenna Odeluga for Wuerffel.