Gators LB Ventrell Miller Named to Butkus Award Watch List
Yet another Florida Gators defender was added to a watch list earlier this week with linebacker Ventrell Miller becoming the most recent. Miller is entering his fifth and final season with the Gators after becoming one of the team's primary defenders over the past couple of seasons.
The Butkus Award is given annually to the top linebacker in college football. This will be Miller's second year in a row being placed on the watch list.
Along with Miller, Florida has another defender watch lists, cornerback Kaiir Elam, who has been named to three thus far, including the Chuck Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award, and, most recently, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
All three honors are representative of one of the best defenders in the nation whether at cornerback or any other position.
In Miller, Florida expects him to start yet again in the middle of the defense after leading the teams in tackles last year with 88.
He was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after he posted 15 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a sack vs. Ole Miss. The redshirt senior was also named to the 2021 Preseason All-SEC Second Team.
Miller was also one of the team's representatives at SEC Media Day, addressing the media prior to the season starting next month.
The redshirt senior spoke about his leadership role heading into this year, and the importance of it with such a young team surrounding him this year.
"It's a big role, a big role to play, but I embrace it. I like that Coach believes in me that much to put the load on me," Miller said last week. "So just going out there, looking forward to doing everything I can to help the team win."
Florida will begin its pursuit of yet another SEC East title, hoping to enact recent against the Alabama Crimson Tide, who defeated Florida in the SEC Championship game in December of last year.
