Virginia beats out Penn State, Ole Miss, Kansas State for standout pass rusher Butler

By Jerry Ratcliffe

When Kam Butler entered the transfer portal in late January, he thought he might draw interest from some Group of Five schools, but what transpired in the past few weeks has blown his mind.

Apparently the Miami (Ohio) edge rusher’s stock was worth a lot more value than he anticipated.

Suddenly offers came pouring in from Penn State, Ole Miss, Iowa, West Virginia, Kansas State and Virginia.

“This was definitely not what I expected,” Butler said of his recruitment. “I expected some interest from Group of Five schools. Once I was reached out to by schools like Penn State and other Power Five schools, it definitely excited me.”

While Butler was heavily recruited by Penn State, when it all came to picking a school, the Florence, Ky., standout chose Virginia. He announced his commitment to Tony Elliott’s Cavaliers on his Twitter account on Friday.

Butler is a 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end who was first-team All-MAC this past season for the RedHawks after making second-team all-conference in 2020 and 2019.

This past season, Butler recorded 53 tackles, three forced fumbles, eight sacks (sixth in the MAC) and 12 solo tackles (fourth). Pro Football Focus gave him an overall defensive grade of 79.3. He was known as one of the premiere defensive players in the MAC.

Miami (Ohio) coach Chuck Martin sung Butler’s praises.

“I’ve been coaching for 29 years and I’m talking every day at practice, Butler’s motor runs as hot as any player I’ve coached. Even our hardest-working teammates would tell you Kam Butler never has an off-switch. He just plays at a feverish pace and a relentless pursuit.”

After Butler starred in a win over Akron, Martin couldn’t say enough about his defensive end’s performance.

“I swear, every time I looked up he was either sacking somebody, a tackle for loss, or he was chasing somebody a hundred miles an hour. It was literally like they couldn’t block him.”

A 3-star edge rusher coming out of high school, Butler played in 10 games in 2018, started 14 games in 2019 (45 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, including two sacks and four tackles for loss against Cincinnati). He played in all three of Miami’s games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and had 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss.

Butler will add experience to a Virginia front seven that was depleted by graduation and transfers this past season, and should help give defensive coordinator John Rudzinski another veteran pass rusher. 

Out-recruiting Penn State is a big deal for Elliott’s new Virginia staff.

“The Penn State offer was a big deal in my eyes,” Butler said. “I’ve grown up watching college football and have always known about Penn State’s history and culture. I was contacted by (Lions’ defensive coordinator) Manny Diaz (former Miami University head coach) and another member of the defensive support staff. He talked to me about their defensive scheme and how it would be a good fit for me. He also talked about his track record with defenses and recruiting great defensive talent.”

In the end, Diaz couldn’t outsell Virginia’s Rudzinski, who has secured yet another piece that could help rebuild the Cavaliers’ defense for 2022.

Butler joins former Michigan State defensive end Jack Camper, a 6-4, 250-pound, three-year letterwinner for the Spartans, as two transfer ends to Virginia’s program.