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More hardware for a hard hitter Penn State's Arrington wins Butkus Award as top LB
Posted: Friday December 10, 1999 11:42 PM
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Penn State's LaVar Arrington won the Butkus Award on Friday night as college football's top linebacker. Arrington, a junior, beat out teammate Brandon Short, Kansas State's Mark Simoneau and Tennessee's Raynoch Thompson for the award presented by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando. "I wish I could spilt the award with them," Arrington said. "I don't think you could have a better list of finalists." The award was the second in as many days for Arrington. He won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the top defensive player Thursday. Arrington had 72 tackles, nine sacks and 20 tackles for a loss this season. He also blocked two kicks, including a field goal attempt with four seconds left in Penn State's 20-17 victory over Pittsburgh. Short topped the Nittany Lions with 103 tackles. The fifth-year senior also had four sacks and 12 tackles for a loss. Thompson anchored a Tennessee defense that allowed just three rushing touchdowns and limited opponents to 2.7 yards per rushing attempt. The senior had 85 tackles and three interceptions. Simoneau, also a senior, had a Kansas State-best 91 tackles. He had 17 tackles for a loss and 61/2 sacks. Bob Breunig, the former Arizona State and Dallas Cowboys linebacker, won the Butkus Silver Anniversary Award winner. The awards are named for Dick Butkus, the former Illinois and Chicago Bears star. The No. 13 Nittany Lions face the No. 18 Texas A&M Aggies on Dec. 28 in the Alamo Bowl San Antonio. It's the second time in the Alamo Bowl for Texas A&M and the first for Penn State.
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