Ole Miss linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul, Jr. named one of five finalists for Butkus Award

CHICAGO – Ole Miss football junior linebacker Chris Paul Jr. has been named one of five collegiate finalists for the 2024 Butkus Award, as announced by the Butkus Foundation on Monday morning.

Paul Jr. was chosen alongside Clemson’s Barrett Carter, UCLA’s Carson Schwesinger, Oklahoma’s Danny Stutsman and Georgia’s Jalon Walker. Paul Jr. is looking to become just the second Rebel to win the award alongside Pro and College Football Hall of Fame member Patrick Willis, who won collegiately in 2006 and professionally in 2009.

This is the 40th year of the Butkus Award, which is handed out annually to the top linebackers at the professional, collegiate and high school levels in honor of legendary Chicago Bears linebacker, Dick Butkus.

Paul Jr. – who goes by the nickname Pooh – is in his first season at Ole Miss after transferring from Arkansas, and has been among the top-rated linebackers in the nation all season long. Paul Jr. leads all Rebel tacklers and ranks seventh in the SEC with 82 total stops on the year along with 10.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, nine QB hurries, four pass breakups and one fumble recovery.

Nationally, Paul Jr. ranks as PFF’s No. 5 linebacker in the FBS and the second-best one in the SEC in overall grade at 89.8. In SEC play, Paul Jr. owns 7.6 tackles per game and 4.0 total TFL, and he has led an Ole Miss defense that has ranked among the best in the country all season long. The Rebels currently lead all FBS teams in sacks (49), TFL (108) and yards per rush allowed (2.39), while also leading the SEC in rushing defense (87.5 ypg; FBS No. 2) and rushing touchdowns allowed (6; FBS No. 3).

The 51-member Butkus Award selection committee will select top linebackers at the collegiate and high school levels using a 3-2-1 weighted vote with a write-in option. Winners will be named by December 10, with the pro winner selected early 2025. The selection process emphasizes qualities that defined Dick Butkus’ career: toughness, on-field leadership, competitiveness, football character and linebacking skills. The Award is increasingly focused on recognizing linebackers who consistently play off the ball on their feet in a two-point stance in traditional form.

A Butkus Award celebration featuring the 2024 winners is planned Sat., Feb. 1, 2025, at Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois. The celebration will be featured in the Butkus Award special airing on the Big Ten Network in February 2025. More information will be at available www.butkusfoundation.org.

2024 Butkus Award • Collegiate Finalists
Barrett Carter, Clemson
Chris Paul Jr., Ole Miss
Carson Schwesinger, UCLA
Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
Jalon Walker, Georgia