Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, November 22, 2011

The finalists for college football's prestigious end-of-the-year honors continue to be announced, and on Tuesday Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David was named a Butkus Award finalist. David, a senior, leads the Huskers with 114 tackles, including 52 solo stops, 10 tackles for loss and two interceptions. The linebacker posted a season-high 17 tackles against Michigan last week, one of five double-digit tackle performances in 2011. See all the Butkus Award finalists in this post.

Butkus Award Collegiate Finalists
Lavonte David, Nebraska
Dont'a Hightower, Alabama
Jarvis Jones, Georgia
Luke Kuechly, Boston College
Manti Te'o, Notre Dame
Courtney Upshaw, Alabama

One Husker has won the Butkus Award, Trev Alberts in 1993. David is the fourth Nebraska linebacker to become a Butkus finalist, joining Albert, Broderick Thomas (1988) and Ed Stewart (1994).