UCLA senior Anthony Barr is one of 12 finalists for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's top college linebacker.
The semifinalists were announced Monday and selected by a 51-person panel comprised of scouts, coaches and journalists.
Barr was one of four Pac-12 players selected, the most of any conference. He was joined by California junior Khairi Fortt, Utah senior Trevor Reilly and Stanford senior Shayne Skov. Reilly is listed as a defensive end by Utah.
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The other semifinalists: LSU senior Lamin Barrow, Wisconsin senior Chris Borland, Buffalo senior Khalil Mack, Alabama senior C.J. Mosley, Miami (Fla.) junior Denzel Perryman, Ohio State junior Ryan Shazier, Connecticut junior Yawin Smallwood and BYU senior Kyle Van Noy.
No one from the Big 12 made the cut.
Smallwood has 79 tackles and ranks 14th nationally in that category; he and Reilly (69 tackles, to rank 39th) are the only semifinalists to rank in the top 50 nationally in tackles.
Barr is sixth in tackles for loss, with 13, and he also has six sacks. He is the likely winner of the award.
Among those deserving who didn't receive semifinal notice are Illinois senior Jonathan Brown, Iowa senior James Morris and Stanford senior Trent Murphy.
The finalists will be announced November 26, and the winner will be announced by December 10.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
