BOCA RATON — An offseason of preseason accolades continued Monday for Florida Atlantic linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who was one of 51 linebackers named to the Butkus Award watch list.
Al-Shaair, 20, had a career-high 147 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 13 games last season, adding 10.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. After only three seasons, Al-Shaair is the program leader in tackles (354) and opted to return to FAU for his senior season rather than leave early for the NFL Draft, where he was projected as a late-round pick.
Last week, Al-Shaair was named to the Bednarik watch list (best linebacker) and selected by Conference USA coaches as the league’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.