Former Waimea High star Jordan Dizon, a linebacker at Colorado who leads the nation in tackles, has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Butkus Award announced yesterday by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando.

The Butkus Award, named for legendary linebacker Dick Butkus, is given out each year to the top linebacker in college football.

The always humble Dizon was modest about being selected as a semifinalist.

"It's definitely an honor, but it would mean more to me to win the Big 12 Championship than any individual accolades," he said in a press release.

"Great players are a reflection of great coaches, and I have to give all credit to Coach (Brian) Cabral," Dizon added. "He's been there to help me improve since Day One and I just have to keep working hard for him and my team."

Said Cabral: "He's probably the most complete, every down player that I've ever coached. He's the only player I've had start for me for four years, which is a tremendous accomplishment for him. He's enjoying his best season as a Buffalo."

Dizon is averaging 13.9 tackles per game, with 71 being solo stops.

The Buffaloes defensive captain also has played 447 snaps this season — all but 12 by the CU defense. He has seven tackles for losses, including three sacks, and another eight for zero gains by the opponent — all team bests — as are his 12 third-down stops.

Dizon has 12 or more tackles in six of CU's seven games, including a career-high 22 in the opener against Colorado State.

In Colorado's 27-24 win over No. 3 Oklahoma, he had 13 tackles, including a key fourth-quarter sack on third down against Sooners signal caller Sam Bradford.

The other semifinalists are:

Dan Connor of Penn State, Shawn Crable of Michigan, Ali Highsmith of LSU, Erin Henderson of Maryland, James Laurinaitis of Ohio State, J Leman of Illinois, Ben Moffitt of South Florida, Keith Rivers of USC, and Wesley Woodyard of Kentucky.

The list will be trimmed to three finalists Nov. 9. The winner will be announced in December in Orlando.