Auburn football: K.J. Britt named to another award watch list

Auburn’s star linebacker has been named to yet another award watch list.

Senior linebacker K.J. Britt just keeps racking up the preseason recognition. After being named to the Bednarik Award watch list last week, the Auburn football standout has gained the attention of another major college football award.

On Monday, Britt and 48 other players were named to the watch list for the annual Butkus Award which is given annually to the nation’s top linebacker. The senior is the only Auburn player on the list and is one of 14 linebackers from the SEC.

Last season, the hard-hitting linebacker experienced a breakout year in his first season as a starter for the Tigers. Overall, Britt ranked third on the team with 68 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

Britt will enter his senior season as the leader of a talented Auburn linebacker group that includes junior Zakoby McClain, rising sophomore Owen Pappoe and veteran Chandler Wooten.

With Britt now named to two award watch lists, it’s clear that big things are expected from the 6-foot, 236-pound linebacker. After all, he was a big part of an Auburn defense that ranked in the top-20 nationally in points allowed per game (19.5). For his efforts, Britt was named to first-team All-SEC in 2019.

No Auburn player has ever won the award since it began in 1985, however, Britt certainly isn’t the first Tiger to be named to the award’s preseason watch list. The last Auburn player to accomplish that was Deshaun Davis in 2018.

While the award has gone to an SEC player in three of the last four seasons, Clemson star and eventual top-10 draft pick Isaiah Simmons took home the award for this past season.

While Britt is racking up the preseason recognition, he isn’t the only Auburn player to be named to an award watch list this offseason. Sophomore quarterback Bo Nix was named to O’Brien Award watch list, sophomore running back D.J. Williams was named to the Doak Walker Award watch list and junior wideout Seth Williams was named to the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award.