TUCSON, Ariz. – University of Arizona football linebacker Justin Flowe has been named to the Butkus Award Watch List, as announced today by The Butkus Foundation. The Butkus Award honors the nation's best linebacker.
 
Flowe adds the Butkus Award Watch List selection to a litany of preseason accolades, including the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List, and preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. He is one of 51 college linebackers selected to the Butkus Award Watch List nationwide. It marks the second time in his collegiate career that he has been named to the Butkus Award Watch List after winning the award in high school. 

He was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in 2021, after making 14 tackles marking the most by an Oregon freshman since Troy Dye in 2016.  Flowe became the first Oregon player since 2007 and the fourth since 2000 to record at least 14 tackles and force a fumble in the same game. He was the eighth player in Oregon program history to have at least 14 tackles in a season opener.
 
The Upland High School product was a consensus five-star prospect, top 11 player in the nation, No. 1 inside linebacker, and top high school defensive player in California by ESPN, Rivals, and 247Sports.  Flowe was named the 2019 Butkus Award high school winner and the 2019-20 All-USA High School Football Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today.
 
Arizona opens the 2023 football season at home against Northern Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.
 
ABOUT THE BUTKUS AWARD
Instituted in 1985, The Butkus Award® is one of the elite individual honors, originally given each year to one player in college football: the most impactful linebacker in the game. In 2008, The Butkus Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, took stewardship of the award to fully realize the original purpose of honoring athletic achievement and service to the community. Since that time, the award has honored the nation's best high school, college, and professional linebackers. An independent Butkus Award Selection Committee conducts the selection process each year. The committee is comprised of 51 experts, including professional, college, and high school scouts, and prominent sports journalists.

The award semifinalists are expected to be named on Oct. 30 with finalists to follow on Nov. 20. The winner will be named on or before Dec. 6. Appearing on the watch list is not a requirement to win the award. All 2023 Butkus Award winners will be honored at a televised event in Jan. 2024. BTN (the Big Ten Network) aired the event last season, featuring Butkus and numerous noted NFL Alumni. To watch the show online via YouTube, click here.