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Wisconsin’s Leo Chenal named finalist for prestigious LB award
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Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chenal has been turning heads all season long and the result is being name a finalist for a prestigious award.
On Monday morning, Chenal was 1 of 6 finalists named for the Butkus Award, presented to the top linebacker in college football. He is the only linebacker from the B1G to earn a spot on the list:
- Darrian Beavers, Cincinnati
- Leo Chenal, Wisconsin
- Damone Clark, LSU
- Nakobe Dean, Georgia
- Devin Lloyd, Utah
- Chad Muma, Wyoming
Chenal missed the first 2 games of the season because of a positive COVID-19 test. Since his return, though, he’s been on a tear.
The Wisconsin linebacker has tallied 92 tackles in 9 games, ranking fourth in total stops in the B1G. He’s also responsible for 15.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 4 quarterback hurries and 2 forced fumbles.
Chenal is a big reason why the Badgers own one of the nation’s top defenses and are currently 8-3 with a chance to clinch a B1G West title on Saturday with a win over Minnesota. Wisconsin is also on a 7-game winning streak.
Chenal posted a season-best 17 tackles in Wisconsin’s 20-14 victory over Army in mid-October. A week later, he racked up 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks to go along with 9 total stops in a 30-13 win versus Purdue.
With 8 tackles against Minnesota, Chenal would hit 100 for the season.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB