Two Alabama Defensive Players Named as National Award Semifinalists

C.J. Mosley and Landon Collins were both named to national award semifinalist lists on Monday as the Butkus Award tabbed Mosley and the Jim Thorpe Award identified Collins.

The Butkus is annually given to the nation’s top linebacker while the Thorpe honors college football’s best defensive back. Mosley is one of 12 semifinalists in 2013 and was a finalist for the Butkus a season ago. Collin is one of 15 semifinalists for the Thorpe Award.

Alabama has had two winners of the Butkus Award, Rolando McClain (2009) and Derrick Thomas (1988). The Tide’s Antonio Langham won the school’s only Thorpe Award in 1993, although Mark Barron was a finalist in 2011 and Dee Milliner in 2012.

Mosley, from Moblie, Ala., has a team-high 59 tackles on the season with 5.5 tackles for loss (10 yards), three pass breakups and four quarterback hurries. Collins is second on the team in tackles with 34 with a team-best five pass breakups, a forced fumble and an 89-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The Thorpe Award is named after history’s greatest athlete, Jim Thorpe, and is presented by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Jim Thorpe Association in Oklahoma City. The Butkus Award honors outstanding linebackers at three levels of play, while spreading the word about the I Play Clean™ initiative, which encourages teens to eat well, train hard, and play smart, instead of resorting to performance-enhancing drugs.