Current and future Buckeyes nominated for national football awards

Published Oct. 28, 2013 11:23 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Butkus Award announced semifinalists for its college and high school awards with Ohio State represented on both lists of standout linebackers.

Ryan Shazier, a junior linebacker for the Buckeyes, is among 12 players still being considered for the college Butkus Award. That group also includes Ohio native Chris Borland, a Kettering Alter product who is a senior at Wisconsin, and senior MAC standout Khalil Mack of Buffalo.

Shazier leads Ohio State with 66 tackles this season and shares the Big Ten lead in tackles for loss (nine) with teammate Noah Spence.

One quarter of the 12 semifinalists for the high school version of the award call Ohio home, including two future Buckeyes: Dante Booker of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Kyle Berger of Cleveland St. Ignatius. They are joined by St. Clairsville's Michael Ferns, who is headed to Michigan. Berger is out for the season after having surgery to repair a torn ACL.

Shazier is not the only current Buckeye in the running for a national defensive award.

Senior safety C.J. Barnett is a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award that is given annually to the best defensive back in the country.

He hopes to join previous Ohio State winners Antoine Winfield and Malcolm Jenkins.

Previous OSU Butkus winners are Andy Katzenmoyer and James Laurinaitis.