Henry To’o To’o Added to Butkus Award Watch List

The Sacramento product was included among the list of names to watch to earn the Bednarik Award last week, and today he earned another prestigious honor after being named to the Butkus Award watch list.

Expectations for sophomore linebacker Henry To’o To’o have skyrocketed since he signed with the Vols last year over Alabama and Washington. The native of California was named to the SEC All-Freshman team during his first year on Rocky Top, in addition to earning national freshman All-American honors from several media organizations. The De La Salle High School graduate finished the season with 72 tackles, the 2nd most for any SEC freshman and the 4th most of any freshman in the FBS ranks, and appeared in all 13 of the Vols’ games.

As a result of To’o To’o’s impressive first season in Knoxville, the rising sophomore has been given a multitude of honors, in addition to being named to several watch lists for the upcoming 2020-21 season. The Sacramento product was included among the list of names to watch to earn the Bednarik Award last week, and today he earned another prestigious honor after being named to the Butkus Award watch list.

To’o To’o joins 50 other linebackers — 15 of which are from the SEC — on the list, and would become the first Tennessee Volunteer to ever win the award. The Butkus Award is given annually to the top collegiate linebacker, and the finalists are expected to be named on November 23, with the winner being named on December 8th.

To’o To’o will be forced to take more of a leadership role in 2020 following the departure of senior linebacker Daniel Bituli, who is now playing on Sundays with the Los Angeles Rams. The Vols’ defense also lost safety Nigel Warrior, who is now with the Baltimore Ravens, and edge rusher Darrell Taylor, who is now with the Seattle Seahawks.

To’o To’o was the first linebacker to start in a season opener as a true freshman for the Volunteers since A.J. Johnson and Curt Maggitt started against Montana during the 2011 season. To’o To’o also became the first freshman to lead the Vols in tackles during a season opener in 24 years against Georgia State, when Dwayne Goodrich earned the honor against UNLV in 1996.

The Vols season is currently scheduled to begin on September 5th, when the Vols will face-off against the Charlotte 49ers in Neyland Stadium. If the SEC eventually decides to move to a conference-only schedule then the Vols first match-up would be against their divisional rival: Florida.