After being tabbed second team All-SEC by the media, Auburn senior linebacker Deshaun Davis will have more preseason accolades to boast.
The Butkus Award, which selects 51 players in honor of namesake Dick Butkus' pro jersey number, featured Davis as one of its watch list members Monday morning. Davis is the first Tiger to be featured on the preseason list since 2015, when linebackers Kris Frost, Carl Lawson and Cassanova McKinzy all made the field of 51.
The Prichard, Alabama product led the team in tackles last season with 82 to bring his career total to 150. In addition to quarterback Jarrett Stidham and defensive tackle Dontavius Russell, Davis represented Auburn at SEC Media Days on July 19 in Atlanta.
"I take a lot of pride being an Auburn linebacker," Davis said in Atlanta. "I embrace every moment and every game, because I know for me, at one point in time, I was not on the field. I missed three consecutive years of football at one point, which started at my senior year of high school because of an injury. So I never take a snap for granted. That’s why every time we make a play, I celebrate.”
The senior will look to bring the award home to the Southeastern Conference for the third straight year after Georgia's Roquan Smith and Alabama's Reuben Foster won in 2017 and 2016, respectively.
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
