FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – Tennessee senior defensive lineman Matthew Butler was one of 93 players named to the watch list for the 2021 Wuerffel Trophy on Thursday.
Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, the Wuerffel Trophy is presented annually to recognize college football’s top community servant. The trophy exists to honor college football players who serve others, celebrate their positive impact on society and inspire greater service in the world.
Butler enters his final season on Rocky Top as one of the Volunteer’s unquestioned leaders on and off the field. The veteran defensive lineman has been one of the team’s most productive players over the past two seasons, totaling 88 tackles, six tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three pass breakups and one forced fumble in that span. Butler has also excelled off the field, earning a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll four times while also garnering CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 2019.
The Raleigh, North Carolina, native was part of the exclusive VOLeaders Academy during the 2018-19 academic year. The select group of Tennessee student-athletes culminated their year-long leadership program with a service trip to Rwanda, where they participated in leadership and service opportunities focused on community development and social change through sport.
Butler added to his reputation as one of the SEC’s top scholar-athletes when he was named the recipient of a 2021 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and a nominee for the 2021 H. Boyd McWhorter Student-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship, which is awarded annually by the SEC to the league’s top male and female scholar-athletes.
Semifinalists for the Wuerffel Trophy will be announced on Nov. 2 and finalists will be announced on Nov. 22. The formal announcement of the 2021 recipient will be made on Dec. 9 and the presentation of the 2021 Wuerffel Trophy will occur in Feb. 2022 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
The complete watch list for the 2021 Wuerffel Trophy can be seen HERE.
2021 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List
-UT Athletics
