Jeremy Banks named to Butkus Award preseason watch list
Redshirt senior Jeremy Banks has been named to the 38th annual Butkus Award preseason watch list.
The award honors the nation’s top collegiate linebacker.
He is one of 51 players named to the list. The 51 athletes on the list every year mirrors Dick Butkus’ uniform number with the Chicago Bears.
Butkus was recognized as the best defensive player in NFL history by NFL Films.
The SEC led all conferences with 12 players named to the watch list. The Pac-12 had nine.
Banks led the Vols in total tackles in 2021 with 128 (59 solo, 69 assists). He was also second in the conference and tied for seventh nationally.
Banks averaged 9.85 tackles per game (12th nationally).
He posted double-digit tackles in six of his last seven games in 2021. Banks’ 128 tackles were the most recorded by a Tennessee player since A.J. Johnson (138) in 2012.
