Beat profile: Drew Butler

It was only a year ago that the University of Georgia football team was without a punter. Its two-year starter had graduated, and it was anyone’s guess who the replacement would be.

Fast-forward a year later and the Bulldogs may have the best punter in all of college football, thanks to the efforts of Drew Butler.

Butler, a junior, captivated Georgia fans with an outstanding, if not magical season, winning the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter after averaging a nation-high 48.1 yards per punt. His average was over two yards further than anyone else in the country, and only 2.2 yards short of the single-season record average, set by LSU’s Chad Kessler in 1997.

His screaming punts that arced over Sanford Stadium all season long not only made him a fan favorite among Bulldog fans, but also earned him All-SEC First-Team selections from Associated Press, SEC Coaches, ESPN, Phil Steele and Sporting News, as well as First-Team All-America by Walter Camp, American Football Coaches, Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News.

All this after being unsure if he would even be the starter.

“At the beginning of last season, there was no certainty that I was going to be the starting punter,” Butler said. “So I started working hard that spring in the weight room, and when camp came around the coaches had confidence in me.”

But Butler wasn’t completely unknown by Bulldog nation. In fact, he’s the second generation of a Georgia football legacy. His father, Kevin Butler, was a kicker for the Bulldogs from 1981-1984 and the first kicker to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. He went on to have a 12-year career in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals, retiring in 1997 as the Bears’ all-time leading scorer.

So it was no surprise that Drew Butler followed the same path as his father in football, and it didn’t take long for recruiting scouts to notice. As a kicker and punter for Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Ga., he was a First-Team All-State selection among Class AAAAA schools by the Georgia Sports Writers Association and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2006. At the time of his commitment to Georgia, he was ranked No. 9 in the country among punters by Scout.com.

Having lived up to the expectations Georgia had for him when they offered him a scholarship, Butler is no longer just trying to establish himself at the college level, but now trying to work on the technicalities of his game, such as decreasing his hang time and pinpointing his accuracy.

“I need to continue to build on what I did last year,” Butler said. “It’s time to get more specific and work harder this spring.”

If Butler continues to improve at the pace he did last year, the sky is the limit for him, as he has two years left with the Bulldogs. And like all of his teammates, his goal is to go where his father did after college—the NFL. His 2009 statistics would still give him second-highest punting average in the NFL, second to only the Oakland Raiders’ Shane Lechler.

“Playing in the NFL has always been a dream of mine,” Butler said. “If it’s in the cards I’d love to. It’s just hard to get there.”

Should going pro not be an option after college, Butler still wants to work in sports. He is a Telecommunication Arts major in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and wants to work in radio or sports broadcast.

However, it’s almost impossible to say that the odds of going professional are against Butler. If he continues to be among the best at his position for the next two years, he’ll be punting his way into the NFL immediately after college.

“To punt in the NFL, it’s all about being able to perform and help out your team,” Butler said. “I hope to do that.”

Blawg Edits

After doing a little Internet meandering, here's a few other Georgia blogs with some interesting stuff:

Battle Hymn Notes recently did their own breakdown of the depth chart, but read the April 19 post about new quarterback Hutson Mason. It's going to be interesting to see how he turns out.

Bulldawg Illustrated has some stuff about Aaron Murray's input on the depth chart and being the No. 1 quarterback.

David Hale, always a good read, is focusing on some of Georgia's 2010 opponents, including South Carolina today.

Dawg Sports has some of their own input on the Logan Gray situation.

UGABlog.com also has Logan Gray stuff.

ESPN's SEC Blog Coverage of the quarterback situation, and how much it's changed since the David Greene days.

Walk-on lineman arrested, suspended

Walk-on offensive lineman Josh Parrish has been suspended indefinitely after being arrested for an alcohol-related offense, according to Mark Richt earlier today.

Parrish, 19, was charged with underage possession and possession of false identification, according to Athens-Clarke County Police.

Richt has to be fuming at this point. This is the fourth player to break the law this spring. He already dismissed quarterback Zach Mettenberger, linebacker Montez Robinson and punter Trent Dittmer this season, and there's no doubt Parrish is gone after this incident.

However, there's not a whole lot more Richt can do. As long as players are having run-ins with the law, they're going to be kicked off the team. If that's not enough incentive to stay out of trouble, then they shouldn't have been on the team in the first place.

Backup QB considering transfer

It looks like Logan Gray is getting tired of being the backup.

Gray, who is the second-string quarterback behind Aaron Murray, met with Mark Richt Monday and is considering transferring to another school.

Gray is a junior and has served as backup since he came to Georgia. Murray, on the other hand, is a redshirt freshman and has already earned the starting job without ever taking a snap.

If Gray leaves the team, that leaves the Bulldogs with a staff shortage at quarterback, as incoming freshman Hutson Mason would be the only other quarterback on the team.

Should Gray move to another Division I-A school, he'll lose a year of eligibility and would not be able to play his senior year at the new school (see Mitch Mustain, USC quarterback). If he transfers to anything lower, he'll keep his two-year eligibility he has with the Bulldogs.

Luckily, Gray is a shifty kind of player. Technically, he's a dual-threat quarterback. He has a good speed and can turn on a dime, which made him useful on triple-option QB runs last season. Can you say wide receiver?

The guy has no problem handling fair catches, so why not a few short passes? Gray himself has even said he'd like to play receiver. If he stays on the team, he can continue the role of backup quarterback, but see time on the field as a receiver.

Breaking down Georgia's new depth chart - Special Teams

In my final installment of Georgia's Post-Spring Depth Chart, which has been going on for entirely too long now, I'll be taking a look at the 2010 special teams.

Yep, those guys. The ones you've never heard or give any love to. But, in fact, the Bulldogs had one of the more successful special teams in the SEC, which featured the rise of one of the top punters in the country, as well as arguably the greatest kick and punt returner in Georgia history.

So let's take a look:



Kicker - Starter: Blair Walsh. Backup: Brandon Bogotay, Jamie Lindley. Walsh has become one of the more efficient kickers in the SEC the past two seasons, earning more praise last year when he was named to the All-SEC second team. His 90.5 field goal percentage was second among starters in the conference last year, and he was a perfect 37-for-37 in Points After Touchdowns. He also maxed out at 53 yards, meaning that Walsh has a career in the NFL waiting for him. But he still has two years left, and Georgia is in no hurry to move him on.

Punter - Starter: Drew Butler. Backup: Blair Walsh, Jamie Lindley. It's hard to argue with a guy whose punting average would rank him second-highest in the NFL, let alone in college. But the stats don't lie; Butler's 48.8 yards per punt was the very best in college, which won him All-SEC first-team and a ton of national accolades, including the Ray Guy award for best punter. And it's only his junior year, so he's going to be even better by the time he graduates, where a long-term NFL job is waiting for him. Believe it or not, but the best punter in football, at any level, is right here in Athens.

Punt/kick Returns - Starter: Brandon Boykin (unofficial). Backup: Branden Smith. While Mark Richt didn't officially announce the starters for kick and punt returns, there's a solid chance it's going to be Boykin. The junior set school records in 2009 with 38 kickoff returns, 988 return yards and three touchdowns, two of which were for 100 yards. And those numbers were collected while sharing time with now-Baltimore Raven Prince Miller. Boykin should see every kick return this year, with Smith helping out on punts. Back-up quarterback Logan Gray also assisted with punt returns (or just fair catches) and will likely do so again in 2010.

Also, just as a side-note, Butler is the team's starting holder, and Ty Frix, a redshirt sophomore, is the long snapper.

Now that I've gone through the whole depth chart, check out the David Hale's prediction from March 18, and see how accurate it was.

Five former Bulldogs taken in 2010 NFL Draft

The 2010 NFL Draft made new homes for five former Georgia football players.

Rennie Curran, Geno Atkins, Reshad Jones, Jeff Owens and Kade Weston were each drafted to NFL team's in the seven-round draft that began Thursday and concluded Saturday.

Here's the breakdown of when, and where, everyone went:

Rennie Curran, LB - Third round, 97th overall, Tennessee Titans
Geno Atkins, DT - Fourth round, 120th overall, Cincinnati Bengals
Reshad Jones, SS - Fifth round, 163rd overall, Miami Dolphins
Jeff Owens, DT - Seventh round, 243rd overall, Philadelphia Eagles
Kade Weston, DT - Seventh round, 248th overall, New England Patriots

Additionally, a few non-drafted former Bulldogs also signed with teams as free agents shortly after the draft. Wide receiver Michael Moore will join former teammate Matthew Stafford on the Detroit Lions, while safety Bryan Evans will reunite with Atkins on the Bengals. Cornerback Prince Miller also signed a contract with the Baltimore Ravens. That leaves offensive lineman Vince Vance as the only free agent still on the market.

Here are some other blogs breaking down the 2010 NFL Draft, Georgia or not:

A Bulldog in Exile discusses the success of the SEC in this year's draft. The Conference had 49 players drafted, 15 more than any other.

David Hale, UGA beat writer for Macon.com, sums up Georgia's draft and previews next year's draft for the Bulldogs.

The Georgia Bulldogs Examiner goes in-depth with the draftees.

Get The Picture has some more on the SEC's success in this year's draft.

Jeff Owens' blog - Straight from the man himself. He hasn't updated in a while, but I can't imagine him not wanting to write a bit about his recent experiences.

Mark Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald with some details on the free agent signings.

Breaking down Georgia's new depth chart - Defense

Following up my last blog with position breakdowns on the offensive side of the 2010 Post-Spring Depth Chart, it's now time to take a look at the X's and see the new projected starters on defense.

Georgia's new-look defense features a lot of position changes and new faces. First-year Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has introduced a new 3-4 scheme defense for this year, which helps offset the loss of three defensive lineman to the NFL. Now, the weight of the defensive front shifts to the linebackers, which Georgia has plenty of. The defensive backs also feature new faces, filling in for other NFL-bound graduates.

So here it is:

Defensive tackle - Starter: DeAngelo Tyson. Backup: Kwame Geathers, Candler Cook. Tyson, a junior, will get his first chance as a starter in the middle of the trenches as nose tackle. He replaces a slew of memorable defensive tackles in Jeff Owens, Kade Weston and Geno Atkins, all of which were drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft. Pressure? Definitely, but hulking redshirt freshman Geathers is a developing talent, and will assist Tyson when Grantham calls for a nose guard.


Defensive ends - Starters: LE Abry Jones, RE Demarcus Dobbs. Backup: Brandon Wood, Kiante Tripp, Derrick Lott, Nick Franks, Matthew DeGenova. Dobbs is the only returning starter from last year on the defensive line and will have to be a leader of a fairly long lone. That's not to say that the line is weak; Jones, a sophomore comes out of Spring practices the surprising starter over Wood. At 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, Jones is as big as they come from left ends, and may see some time at nose guard. Wood and Tripp will also see some playing time, both with a few career starts under their belts.

Outside linebackers - Starters: OLB Justin Houston, OLB Cornelius Washington. Backup: Ruben Faloughi, Darryl Gamble, Brock Boleman, Chase Vasser, Ricky Lowe. The linebacking starters are a big surprise to those familiar with last year's defensive depth chart. Two of the starters--Houston and Washington, were defensive ends last season. Now that Grantham has called for an extra linebacker on the field, the best at blitzing go out on the outside as added pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Houston and Washington can do just that, as they combined for 11.5 sacks last year.

Inside linebackers - Starters: Christian Robinson, Akeem Dent. Backup: Marcus Dowtin, Mike Gilliard, Richard Samuel, Hakeem Hebron, Jason Veal, Jeremy Sulek, Jackson Griffeth, Chris Grund, Micah King. The Bulldogs have a ton of depth at inside linebacker, but not a whole lot of experience. The most seasoned of the bunch is Dent, who started 10 games in 2008. Robinson, on the other hand, has yet to start a game. But if either go down or a third linebacker is needed for the play, there's a slew of guys with at least some playing time to come in, including Dowtin (third-leading tackler in 2009), Samuel (who was a running back last year), or Hebron.



Free Safety - Starter: Bacarri Rambo. Backup: Jakar Hamilton, Eric Elliot. Rambo didn't start any games last year, but his presence was still felt, highlighted by a pair of interceptions. Now that 2009 starter Bryan Evans has graduated, Rambo is the go-to guy at free safety. He'll have to stay healthy to avoid a depth problem, though, as his primary backup is Hamilton, a recent signee from the junior college level.

Strong Safety - Starter: Nick Williams. Backup: Quinton Banks, Shawn Williams, Josh Murray. The Rashad Jones era is over. After three years of obliterating receivers in mid-field, Jones has left for the NFL. And so the Nick Williams era (if we can call it that) has begun. With one start at linebacker last season, Williams is roughly the same size as Jones was, limiting the downsizing of the Bulldogs' defensive secondary.

Cornerbacks - Starters: Brandon Boykin, Vance Cuff. Backup: Branden Smith, Sanders Commings, Chad Gloer, Jordan Love, Corey Dunson, Blake Sailors, Luis Capella. Stopping the pass was a struggle for Georgia last year, as they finished 10th in the SEC in pass defense. Hopefully a year of problems served as a lesson learned for the defensive secondary, as many of them return for this year. 2009 starter Prince Miller is out, replaced by Cuff. Boykin, who had three interception last year, returns as a starter on defense and as the primary punt and kick returner. Smith also saw decent playing time on both sides of the ball in 2009 as a freshman, and should do so again this season.

That does it for the defense, a side of the football that has a ton of question marks entering the regular season. After struggling for a majority of 2009, it'll be interesting to see what a new coordinator can do make the defense more efficient.

I'll conclude my breakdowns later with special teams, hopefully by tomorrow.