The candidates for the Butkus Award have been narrowed down to 16 semi-finalists. It should come as no surprise to anyone on this forum that our resident man-child Rolando McClain has made the cut. Others from the league are:

Brandon Spikes, Florida

Perry Riley, Louisiana State

Rennie Curran, Georgia

Eric Norwood, South Carolina

Show's that it's hard to find better linebacker play anywhere else in the nation with the SEC taking 5 of the 16 spots. If Donte were not injured, that could be 6 of 16. Nice to see the LB position is alive and well in Lee Roy Jordan's old stomping grounds.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/4662/five-sec-players-make-butkus-cut