August 14, 2026
Texas A&M, Texas, Colorado Land Linebackers on 2026 Butkus Award Watch List
Preseason recognition for linebackers at three programs highlights a 2026 Butkus Award watch list announced Thursday.
The 2026 Butkus Award watch list was announced Thursday, with Texas A&M, Texas, and Colorado among the programs earning preseason recognition for their linebackers. The award is presented annually to the top-performing linebacker at the high school, college, and NFL levels.
Texas A&M's entry on the list is Tulsa transfer Ray Coney, who recorded more than 120 tackles in his lone season with the Golden Hurricanes before arriving in College Station. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior earned an 87.6 overall grade and an 86.9 run-defender grade from Pro Football Focus last season, adding 23 pressures to his résumé. New Aggies defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill praised Coney's football IQ, physicality, and athleticism in coverage following the first five preseason practices. Coney is expected to anchor a linebacker room that also includes senior Daymion Sanford, who is on track to play in the season opener against Missouri State after suffering a fibula injury in the spring, and rising sophomore Noah Mikhail.
At Texas, transfer linebacker Rasheem Biles earned a spot on the watch list for the second consecutive season. Biles joined the Longhorns after three seasons at Pittsburgh and is one of the more experienced linebackers in the SEC. Former Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was most recently a finalist for the Butkus Award, a benchmark the program will be hoping Biles can approach in 2026.
Colorado Adds Two Transfer Linebackers to Watch List
Colorado placed two linebackers on the watch list, both of them transfers, as the program continues to reshape its defense. The pair of inclusions gives the Buffaloes early national attention at the position heading into fall camp.
The preseason watch list recognitions across Texas A&M, Texas, and Colorado reflect a broader trend of transfer portal movement redefining linebacker depth charts ahead of the 2026 season. Each of the named players arrived at their current program via transfer, underscoring how roster construction through the portal has become central to competing at the sport's highest level.
