Miami's Morgan Wins Butkus
Dan Morgan, the Miami Hurricanes' all-time leading tackler, won the Butkus Award on Friday night as the nation's top collegiate linebacker.
Morgan, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound senior, was chosen over juniors Rocky Calmus of Oklahoma and Keith Adams of Clemson for the award named for former University of Illinois and Chicago Bears star Dick Butkus.
Earlier in the week, Morgan won the Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik awards. Both are presented to college football's best defensive player.
"It's kind of like a fairy tale you write before the season, when you write your goals down just to make yourself better," Morgan said. "You really don't expect to win them all. It's just been a great honor."
Morgan takes his Big East-record 532 career tackles into the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl, when the No. 2 Hurricanes play No. 7 Florida. The four-year starter made 138 tackles this season, passing George Mira Jr. on Miami's career list.
"I don't think I've ever been around a kid that deserved anything any more than Danny deserves this," Hurricanes coach Butch Davis said. "He's virtually carried our defense on his back for the last three or four years."
Morgan is the first Miami player to win the Butkus Award, sponsored by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando. Former Miami star Ray Lewis, an All-Pro linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens, narrowly lost to Illinois' Kevin Hardy in 1995.
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