KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan senior linebacker Treshaun Hayward was named to the preseason watch list for the Dick Butkus Award as one of the nation's top linebackers entering the 2020 season. He is the first WMU linebacker to be on the preseason watch list since Ameer Ismail in 2006.
Hayward is a fourth team preseason All-America selection by Phil Steele and a unanimous preseason first team all-Mid-American Conference honoree. The 6-1, 225-pound native of Ypsilanti, Mich., was tabbed the 2019 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, joining John Offerdahl (1985), Mark Garalczyk (1986), Sean Mulhearn (1990), Jason Babin (2002 & 2003), Ismail (2006) and Drew Nowak (2011) as Broncos to receive the league's top defensive honor.