Ohio State's Tommy Eichenberg Named Butkus Award Semifinalist

Eichenberg is looking to join former linebackers Andy Katzenmoyer and James Laurinaitis as the only Buckeyes to win the award.

Ohio State linebacker Tommy Eichenberg was named on Tuesday afternoon as one of 15 semifinalist for the Butkus Award, which is presented annually to the top linebacker at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football.

Eichenberg, a redshirt junior from Cleveland St. Ignatius, leads the Buckeyes this season with 72 tackles and is second on the team with seven tackles for loss. He’s also added 2.5 sacks and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown in the 54-10 win over Iowa.

This marks the second honor of the day for Eichenberg, who was also named a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award, which is given to best defensive player in the country. He’s coming off a season-best 15-tackle performance in Saturday’s 44-31 win at Penn State.

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Other semifinalists include Alabama’s Henry To’oTo’o, Arkansas’ Drew Sanders, Auburn’s Owen Pappoe, Cincinnati’s Ivan Pace Jr., Clemson’s Trenton Simpson, Georgia’s Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Iowa’s Jack Campbell, Kentucky’s DeAndre Square, Oregon’s Noah Sewell, Pittsburgh’s SirVocea Dennis, Syracuse’s Mikel Jones, Texas’ DeMarvion Overshown, UConn’s Jackson Mitchell and Washington State’s Dayian Henley.

Finalists for the award, which is named after College and Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, will be announced on Nov. 21. Eichenberg is looking to become the third Buckeye to win, joining former linebackers Andy Katzenmoyer (1997) and James Laurinaitis (2007).

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