Lincoln ? Junior Corey McKeon has joined a long list of Huskers on preseason watch lists as he was named to the 2006 Butkus Award Watch List on Thursday.
The 6-1, 225-pound McKeon was one of 65 linebackers named to the preliminary list. The Butkus Award is annually presented to the nation’s best collegiate linebacker, while the list will be trimmed to 10 semi-finalists on Thursday, October 19. The 2005 Butkus Award winner was Paul Posluszny of Penn State.
McKeon garnered national media attention in his sophomore campaign by leading the Huskers with 98 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and three interceptions. He also added seven sacks, which ranked second on the squad. His tackle for loss total ranked second in school history and the most ever by an NU linebacker. His seven sacks are also second on the Husker linebacker career chart.
McKeon’s performance earned him second-team All-Big 12 honors from the Assocated Press, Kansas City Star and Dallas Morning News, while he earned honorable-mention accolades from the league’s coaches.