Harris Named Butkus Award Semifinalist
10/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc., has announced that University of Michigan fifth-year senior inside linebacker David Harris (Grand Rapids, Mich./Ottawa Hills HS) is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2006 Butkus Award, presented annually to the nation's best collegiate linebacker.
Harris leads the Wolverines with 44 stops this season, including a career-high six tackles for loss. He has collected four or more stops in all seven games this season, and has led or tied for the team lead in tackles four times. Harris tallied a season-high 10 tackles and two TFLs against Wisconsin (Sept. 23) and added nine stops, one behind the line of scrimmage, at Minnesota. He is 21st in the Big Ten in tackles, averaging 6.3 per contest.
Harris enters this Saturday's Iowa game six stops shy of 150 in his career. He has registered 144 stops during his career, including 13 TFLs, one sack, one fumble recovery and three pass breakups. Harris has recorded four or more stops in each of the past 15 games. He has started 18 straight games at inside linebacker and 19 overall contests. Harris is averaging 7.3 tackles per contest over the 18-game stretch since becoming a regular starter. He has a team-leading three double-digit tackle games in his career.
Harris leads a list of three Big Ten Conference linebackers on the prestigious list. He is joined by Ohio State's James Laurinaitis and Penn State's Paul Posluszny.
Following is the list of 10 semifinalists for the Butkus Award:
H.B. Blades, Pittsburgh
Buster Davis, Florida State
David Harris, Michigan
Ali Highsmith, Louisiana State
James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
Rey Maualuga, Southern California
Sam Olajubutu, Arkansas
Paul Posluszny, Penn State
Brandon Siler, Florida
Patrick Willis, Mississippi
Media Contacts: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
