UCLA Linebackers Darius Muasau, Carl Jones Make Butkus Award Watch List

A transfer and a hybrid edge rusher enter the 2022 season as the Bruins' most high-profile linebackers.

The Bruins have opened the second week of watch list season with even more preseason honors.

UCLA football linebackers Darius Muasau and Carl Jones were named to the preseason Butkus Award watch list on Monday morning. The award goes to the top linebacker in the country each season, and the Bruins are one of seven teams with multiple contenders.

Muasau and Jones are UCLA's first defensive players to earn watch list spots this offseason, as quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and running back Zach Charbonnet made the Maxwell Award watch list on July 18. Thompson-Robinson and Charbonnet then made the Davey O'Brien and Doak Walker Award watch lists, respectively, followed by receiver Jake Bobo making the Biletnikoff Award watch list and tight end Michael Ezeike making the Mackey Award watch list.

Coming to UCLA from Hawaii, Muasau is poised to step right into the top inside linebacker role for the Bruins.

Muasau made the All-Mountain West Second Team in both 2020 and 2021, totaling 213 tackles in 22 games across those two campaigns. Last season alone, Muasau recorded 107 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, five forced fumbles, five passes defended and an interception.

With Caleb Johnson transferring to Miami (FL) and Jordan Genmark Heath turning pro, Muasau will be lining up alongside Kain Medrano and Ale Kaho on the inside, but the latter may still be hobbled from an injury that kept him out of spring camp.

Jones, meanwhile, plays on the edge after making the move up front in 2021. After a few seasons as a safety-linebacker hybrid, Jones has solidified himself as one of the most skilled Bruins at getting into the backfield.

Playing all 31 of UCLA's games over the past three years, Jones has racked up 68 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks and one forced fumble.

Mitchell Agude and Myles Jackson may have transferred out of the program, but Jones won't be able to waltz into extra snaps with Gabriel and Grayson Murphy transferring in from North Texas and Bo Calvert sticking around another year.

Both the inside and outside linebackers have new positional coaches this season, with Jason Kaufusi headed to Arizona and Don Pellum retiring. Former Washington co-defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe is now the outside linebackers coach, and former All-American and Super Bowl champion Ken Norton Jr. is the new inside linebackers coach.

Oregon's Noah Sewell, Oregon's Justin Flowe, Washington's Edefuan Ulofoshio, Washington State's Daiyan Henley, Stanford's Levani Damuni, Arizona State's Merlin Robertson and Utah's Mohamoud Diabate are the other Pac-12 representatives on the watch list.

Eric Kendricks became the first Bruin to win the Butkus Award back in 2014, and none have won it since.

The semifinalists for the Butkus Award will be revealed on Oct. 31, followed by the finalists on Nov. 21. The winner will be announced on ESPN on Dec. 7 as part of the annual College Football Awards Show.

Each weekday for the rest of the week, the National College Football Awards Association will announce the watch lists for the rest of its positional awards. The Outland Trophy watch list – which honors the top interior linemen in the country – and the Nagurski Trophy watch list – which honors the top overall defensive players in the country – will be released Tuesday morning.

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