University of Miami linebackers Darryl Sharpton and Sean Spence have been named to the preseason watch list for the 2009 Dick Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker.

Darryl Sharpton ranked fourth on the team with 58 tackles in 2008.

Eight Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) linebackers are among the 35 selected to the initial watch list. In addition to Sharpton and Spence, Bruce Carter (North Carolina), Kavell Conner (Clemson), Quan Sturdivant (North Carolina), Dekoda Watson (Florida State), Nate Irving (North Carolina State) and Mike McLaughlin (Boston College) represent the ACC.

Spence, Miami’s top tackler last season, was selected the 2008 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and was a Freshman All-American. He totaled 65 tackles, with a team-high 9.5 tackles for loss while adding two sacks and an interception.

Sharpton started 10 of 13 games for the Hurricanes last season and is the second-leading tackler returning in 2009. He recorded 58 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He has started 20 of 39 career games and has 156 career tackles.

Official nominees for the Butkus Award collegiate and high school trophies will be named October 15, at a Butkus Charity Fight Night at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago. Finalists will be named November 19, and winners will be named on or before December 8.

Miami is one of eight schools nationally with two players represented on the list, along with Penn State, Georgia, USC, Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Iowa.

The Butkus Award includes high school, collegiate, and professional categories, all of which are selected by a 51-person panel coordinated by Hub Arkush of Pro Football Weekly. The panel includes the nation’s most respected coaches, general managers, talent evaluators, scouts, and media. Certain selectors are not allowed to have contact with certain candidates.

Dick Butkus was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, following an illustrious career with the Chicago Bears, University of Illinois, and Chicago Vocational School.

The Butkus Award is part of the National College Football Awards Association, a coalition of the major collegiate awards. More information on the Butkus Award can be found at www.thebutkusaward.com.