Strong defense is still a staple in the SEC.

Alabama and Georgia continue to put up points in bunches, but the defenses of these two teams have been very impressive. A number of other SEC teams continue to put in tough work on the defensive side of the ball.

One of the most difficult positions on the defensive side of the ball is linebacker, and the SEC has a strong history of remarkable defenders from that position. Patrick Willis, Dont’a Hightower, Jarvis Jones, and Brandon Spikes are just a few of the many linebackers who had a strong career in the SEC.

Not much has changed for 2017 as The Butkus Award released a list of 15 semi-finalists that featured five players from the SEC. The semi-finalists were named on Monday.

The players are Rashaan Evans and Shaun Dion Hamilton from Alabama, Roquan Smith and Lorenzo Carter from Georgia, and Kentucky’s Josh Allen. These players form an extremely talented and versatile group of players.

Georgia’s Smith leads these players in total tackles with 61 while Allen has the most sacks of the group with seven. Carter has two forced fumbles and has three recoveries for the Bulldogs.

The award is named for legendary LB Dick Butkus and is given annually to the best linebacker in all of college football. The winner of the 2016 award was Alabama’s Reuben Foster.