Oklahoma football: David Ugwoegbu named to Butkus Award Watch list

Oklahoma football linebacker David Ugwoegbu is a preseason watch candidate for the 2022 Butkus Award.

Ugwoegbu is one of the most physically gifted linebackers in college football. He has elite size, length, and speed to run sideline to sideline and the athleticism to make big-time plays. He started as an edge player but moved to middle linebacker after his freshman season.

He has shown tremendous flashes throughout his career. These flashes hopefully come full circle for the talented linebacker under defensive coordinator Ted Roof and head coach Brent Venables.

The Butkus Award is presented annually to the best linebacker in college football.

Ugwoegbu is listed as 6-foot, 4 inches and 237 pounds on the Sooner roster. Perfect size for a rangy linebacker. He missed quite a few tackles in 2021, which will need to be cleaned up in order to be as productive. That is exactly what Venables and Company will look to do, and there is no better in the business when it comes to coaching linebackers than Venables.

The senior will also need to take a big step as a leader, which he is certainly capable of. He is well-spoken and highly respected among his teammates. David had a solid day in the Alamo Bowl, notching six tackles in the Sooner’s victory over Oregon.

Ugwoegbu accounted for 47 tackles last season including 1.5 TFLs. If Ugwoegbu was able to win the award he would be the fifth Butkus Award winner in OU’s history.

Brian Bosworth

is the only two-time winner in the award’s history( 1985 and1986),

Rocky Calmus

(2001) and Teddy Lehman (2003) also wer Butkus Award recipients. Lofty expectations but nothing new for players with OU DNA.

Ugwoegbu also needs a strong year to cement himself as an NFL draft pick, which he was projected by some to be as high as a second-round pick during the previous off-season.