For the third consecutive year, a Washington Huskies linebacker has been recognized on the preseason Butkus Award watch list ahead of the 2026 college football season. Xe'ree Alexander, a senior who joined Jedd Fisch's program last offseason through the transfer portal after one season at Central Florida, was one of 51 players on the annual watch list after fellow senior Buddah Al-Uqdah found himself on the same list in 2025. The younger brother of former Husky wide receiver Lonyatta "Junior" Alexander made an immediate impact in his first season on Montlake last fall. An Auburn, Washington native, Alexander made five starts and played in all 13 games for first-year defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, and finished second on the team in tackles (70) and tackles for loss (5), both of which are career highs.
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Dating back to 2024 with former UW linebacker Carson Bruener, Alexander and Al-Uqdah are the latest preseason honorees while ex-Husky standout Edefuan Ulofoshio played his way into being one of five finalists in 2023 despite not making the preseason watch list. "I think—not only for X—but I think that speaks to the program and how he runs it," inside linebackers coach Brian Odom said before the start of fall camp when asked about the talented fourth-year linebacker electing to stay with the team despite having other veteran options around him. "The defense with coach Walters' system. I think you'd be foolish to not want to be in this program after being in this program. If guys don't want to be here, to me, that's a little bit of a knock on the person that wants to leave here. This is the greatest program I've been a part of. It's awesome. The way this program is ran on a day-to-day basis, you don't find it." Alexander has proven to be a consistent force throughout his career, with 213 career tackles and 15 tackles for loss combined over 37 games with at least another dozen potentially on the table for this coming fall should the former Kennedy Catholic star remain healthy. The Butkus Award has been given annually since 1985 to the best linebacker in college football. Named after legendary college and National Football League linebacker Dick Butkus, several former UW standouts have been considered for the award, including most recently Ulofoshio in 2023 and Hau'oli Kikaha in 2014. This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Football LB Named to 2026 Preseason Butkus Award Watch List