In 2009, it was Vicksburg (Miss.) High School. In 2010 and 2011, it was Hinds (Miss.) Junior College. In 2012 and 2013 it was the University of West Alabama. Sunday, it’s going to be New England Patriots, playing opposite the best corner of his generation, Darrelle Revis.
“It is shocking,” Malcolm Butler said in a sweet and twangy Mississippi accent. “Sometimes I look at it and ask myself, ‘Am I really here?’ [I] have to pinch myself. But it’s real and I think it’s deserved. I think I worked hard for it.”
Every one of the NFL’s 32 teams has its improbable success stories. We’re not going to debate whether Butler is the most surprising rookie of the summer.
But for the 5-11, 180-pounder to go from Division 2 (you call it by the official name if you want, I’m still a holdout) to the Patriots secondary was a big enough leap. For him to have seemingly overtaken Logan Ryan and Alfonzo Dennard as the outside corner of choice in the preseason was remarkable.
In his first start of the preseason, Butler came up with a pick and a pass breakup in the first quarter. That beginner’s luck hasn’t really stopped. He’s allowed some receptions, but all corners do. Butler hasn’t gotten scorched. That’s thanks to technique, anticipation and some amazing hips and feet. Butler devours separation.
He wasn’t on the Patriots to-do list when they started the scouting process.
“There were a couple players that we looked at down there [and] ending up not signing after the draft,” Bill Belichick explained last week. “We brought him up for our rookie minicamp and he showed us some things there and he’s continued to work hard and improve through camp. Big jump, lot to learn and he’s worked hard at it. He’s gotten a lot of snaps in the preseason. I think those plays have helped him and he’s a young player that’s continued to improve through camp.”
Why does a player who has obvious talent end up in the football hinterlands of D2 West Alabama?
“It’s my mistake,” he began, sounding as if he needed to apologize. “I started off and played ninth grade and 12th grade. It wasn’t (on my radar) to go to a big college to play, it was a last-minute thing and I really just took off with it.”
The first offer came from Hinds. He jumped. He had offers coming out of Hinds but Butler explained, “I was kinda behind on my grades and if I failed any classes I would've wound up in D3 so I just went D2. At the same time, it don’t matter where you’re from. Just get in.”
Which is exactly what Belichick said.
“There are times where, for whatever the circumstances are, players end up in different college programs that aren’t some of the elite programs in college football. (Former Patriots offensive lineman) Steve Neal or guys like that, end up with no college program and still end up to go on to have great pro careers. I’m not saying that Malcolm will or won’t, I’m just saying that we’ve seen those guys, there are a lot of examples of guys that had that and don’t have NFL careers too. But I think the most important thing for us, for our organization, is what the players do with the New England Patriots more so than what they do somewhere else.”
For Butler, so far, so good.