Following a 2021 season when UVa’s defense allowed 31.8 points per game and gave up 40 points or more on four occasions, it was clear that the new staff would need some help. That’s a big reason as to why Tony Elliott and his assistants went into the transfer portal and added some talented players to the roster, including defensive end Kam Butler.
An an excellent performer in four seasons at Miami (Ohio), Butler comes to Charlottesville to fill one of the team’s biggest needs: The ability to get after the quarterback. He was named to All-MAC teams in each of the last three seasons, including last fall when he made first team All-MAC. Butler finished the 2021 season with eight sacks, 14 tackles for loss, with three forced fumbles and an interception.
The former Redhawk is exactly the type of player that the defense needed to add and the Cavaliers were involved in his recruitment from the moment he entered the portal.
“I wasn’t really expecting much from it,” Butler said of his prospects when entering the transfer portal. “It definitely happens fast.”
Virginia defensive coordinator John Rudzinski led the push for Butler, which materialized quickly.
“I went in on a Tuesday and schools started reaching out that Wednesday morning,” he recalled. “And then the following week I started setting up visits with a few schools to come out to Oxford, Ohio, and then I met with some coaches. I think I met with Coach Rud on a Wednesday or Thursday, two days after I went in the portal. It all happens really, really fast, just like any other recruiting process, really.”
Butler certainly had quite a bit of interest right away. Virginia offered, but so did Penn State, Iowa, Ole Miss, West Virginia and Kansas State, among others. There was plenty of competition but the Florence (KY) native realized pretty quickly that UVa was the place for him.
“As soon as I got here,” he said. “I came on a visit here in high school so I’d already known about the academic side, the campus side, the facilities, all that stuff. I just wanted to see what the new coaching staff was all about.”
As with any recruitment, relationships with the coaching staff can put a school over the top. Butler already knew what UVa was like from his previous visit but he was curious to learn about the new staff and what he could expect if he chose to become a Wahoo.
“I thought they were all good dudes when I first came on the visit,” he said. “I came here and that held true. They’re all good dudes, on and off the field. I’m happy I’m here, I have good teammates. I like going against this O-line, they’re all competitive guys. So I’m happy I’m here.”
Butler mentioned how Rudzinski was so influential in getting him to Virginia. His new defensive coordinator is pushing his new defensive end—as well as the rest of the defense—to get all of the details right as the season opener approaches. Butler said that Rudzinski’s coaching style has suited him well thus far.
“Very serious guy,” he said. “Air Force guy, obviously, Military Academy guy. Real high energy, expects perfection from you which is a good thing in my opinion. He’s going to coach you hard, and a good guy off the field. I like him a lot.”
The fifth-year lineman meshed with the coaching staff and the university was a good fit, but there was also a very specific need for what Butler brings to a football program. Bronco Mendenhall’s defenses thrived when they created havoc, forcing negative plays and sacking the quarterback often. And in the last few years, the havoc dropped off, and so did the defense’s performance as a result. In 2019, UVa finished seventh nationally in sacks with 46th, and ninth nationally in sacks per game with 3.29. In 2021, UVa finished 113th in sacks with 18, just 1.5 per game.
Butler is the caliber of player that should be able to come in and help the pass rush right away. Elliott said recently that Butler has gone to the “front of the line” at his position since arriving this summer, which bodes well for his impact on the defense this season.
“That was made clear by every school that was recruiting me,” Butler said when asked about whether UVa’s glaring need. “They were talking about how there was a need at the position. Me and Coach Rud, we had an open conversation about it. He told me where I’d fit in with the defense, and now I’m here.”
At his previous school, Butler was one of several excellent pass rushers that helped the Redhawks have one of the nation’s best sack totals. Butler, Dominique Robinson, now with the Chicago Bears, and Lonnie Phelps, who transferred to Kansas, combined for 23 of Miami’s 38 sacks last fall. With all of the success getting after opposing quarterbacks, Butler knows how much those negative plays can impact a game.
“At Miami (Ohio) our whole third down was loaded with defensive ends,” Butler said. “We knew once we hit 3rd down that we could go and get after the quarterback, get a sack, get some momentum for the offense, a short field, and change the momentum of the game.”
Having arrived at Virginia this summer, Butler wasn’t in Charlottesville for spring practice when the first installation of the schemes took place. He and many others are quickly catching up on expectations and so far, Butler said that learning the schemes has gone well in part thanks to some help from his teammates.
“It’s been good,” he said. “I wasn’t here in the spring so I don’t know how guys picked it up in the spring, but it seems like everybody knows what they’re doing. My roommate (Paul Akere) is a transfer too, so we’ve just been bouncing plays off of each other at night. Learning the playbook hasn’t been that bad, it’s simple calls, too.”
UVa is now three weeks away from kickoff against Richmond and the start of a new era of Cavalier football. After beating up on each other for the last week, players are starting to look forward to playing an opponent, and starting the season off strong.
Butler is likely to be one of the first Cavaliers to take the field this fall and he’s itching to get to Scott Stadium and make his mark.
“I’m definitely excited for fall camp to be over,” he said, “so we can go out there and play some games.”
