Linebacker duo of Weeks and Dottery named to Butkus Award Watch List
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There’s plenty of unknown when a new head coach takes over a program. Who will play first? Who will be the leaders?
Fortunately for Lane Kiffin, he took over an LSU Football program that was returning Blake Baker as defensive coordinator and the team’s top linebacker in Whit Weeks.
Weeks has been a constant in his first three seasons as a Tiger. It’s clear that Brian Kelly had his issues as LSU’s head coach, but one of the things he was right about was Whit Weeks. About halfway through the 2023 season, Kelly admitted that the freshman linebacker was impossible to keep off of the field.
Fast forward to 2026 and he’s the veteran and captain of the defense, set for a massive final season. Expectations are high, both on and off the field. Just a few days ago, Weeks was named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List.
Most recently, he has been named to the Butkus Award Watch List. This time, he’s not alone. His partner at the linebacker position, TJ Dottery, joins him on the preseason list.
The Butkus Award is given annually to the best linebacker in the country. It was first instituted in 1985 in recognition of the great Dick Butkus of the Chicago Bears. For 20+ years, it was solely a college football award, but in 2008, The Butkus Foundation took control and began honoring the nation’s top linebacker in high school and the NFL, as well.
A combination of 51 scouts and journalists from all three levels of football make up the Butkus Award Selection Committee that makes the selections each year.
Dottery comes over from Ole Miss and has been of equal importance to Kiffin and the Rebels as Weeks is to Baker and the Tigers. Both players have been captains and owners of the green dot helmet, signifying the defense’s play caller.
As for production, Dottery is coming off of a junior season that included 98 tackles, which led the SEC. After playing only 5 games combined in his first two seasons of college football at Clemson and Ole Miss, he took off in 2024 as a redshirt sophomore. Through the past two seasons, he has a combine 174 tackles, 10.0 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks.
It’s tough to find one linebacker that you can trust like Weeks and Dottery. LSU is now blessed with two of them.
While they will certainly produce when on the field together, the added bonus of each of them being comfortable as the quarterback of the defense will pay dividends in the scenario that one of them has to come off of the field. Having a third linebacker like Davhon Keys is a luxury for that same reason. Keys finished 2nd in the SEC behind Dottery with 92 tackles, so it’s safe to say that Baker and Chris Kiffin are in a great spot with the position.
Joining Weeks and Dottery from the SEC on the watchlist will be:
- Xavier Atkins (Auburn)
- Rasheem Biles (Texas)
- Amare Campbell (Tennessee)
- Arion Carter (Tennessee)
- Chris Cole (Georgia)
- Ray Coney (Texas A&M)
- Myles Graham (Florida)
- Owen Heinecke (Oklahoma)
- Kip Lewis (Oklahoma)
- Keaton Thomas (Ole Miss)
- Raylen Wilson (Georgia)
- Caleb Woodson (Alabama)
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