Wake Forest senior Aaron Curry won the Butkus Award honoring the nation's top college linebacker yesterday.

Curry received 63 points in voting, finishing seven ahead of Southern California's Rey Maualuga. James Laurinaitis from Ohio State, USC's Brian Cushing and Boston College's Mark Herzlich rounded out the top five.

Curry finished the regular season with 101 tackles, three fumble recoveries and an interception for the Demon Deacons.

Dozens of students and alumni marched across campus to the president's mansion to protest the school's treatment of former football coach Tommy Tuberville. University officials say Tuberville resigned on his own last week after a decade that included an undefeated season and a Southeastern Conference title. But many demonstrators claimed that administrators and powerful boosters forced him out after a 5-7 record that included a 36-0 loss to Alabama. An organizer, freshman Taylor Jones, said he believes boosters had Tuberville removed with the help of athletic director Jay Jacobs, and for some reason university officials are trying to cover up what happened.