Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
"It made me better as a player, as a man” - Butler takes the long road back to the gridiron
9/30/2023 3:16:00 PM | Football
The MTSU linebacker missed all of 2022 with an injury, and then had to fight back from injury again
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The play-by-play readout of the second drive for Middle Tennessee's defense against Western Kentucky only does a little bit of justice.
1st and 10 at WKU37 | No Huddle-Shotgun Stepp,Markese rush left for 3 yards gain to the WKU40 (Butler,Johnathan).
2nd and 7 at WKU40 | No Huddle-Shotgun Stepp,Markese rush middle for 2 yards gain to the WKU42 (Butler,Johnathan).
3rd and 5 at WKU42 | No Huddle-Shotgun Reed,Austin pass complete short left to Young,Elijah for 1 yard loss to the WKU41 (Butler,Johnathan).
On paper, and to those watching early on Thursday night, it was a typical three-and-out for the Hilltoppers, only made a bit unusual by the same player making the stop for the Blue Raiders, linebacker Johnathan Butler, on each play.
But for Butler, who was making just his second appearance of the season after battling persistent injuries the past couple of years, the powerful tackle for loss along the WKU sideline to close out the series and force a punt was only business as usual for the redshirt senior.
"For me, that's where I like to take my anger out, all that frustration," Butler said of the football field. "That year being away from the game, I had to figure out how to deal with that. It was just fun being out there."
A JUCO product that came to Murfreesboro by way of Highland CC, Butler quickly found himself in the mix in the linebacker room during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, combining to appear in 18 games with 16 starts at middle linebacker while making 91 tackles during his first two seasons as a Blue Raider.
Thanks to an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Butler was ready to go for his senior season in 2022, but quickly realized during fall camp that he wasn't quite himself.
"My knee was feeling weird, I got to the third day of camp and it was swollen (so badly), I really couldn't go," Butler said. "Even though I tried. I went to get an MRI and then everything just hit the fan."
The MRI revealed that cartilage was no longer attached to that right knee, something that would require surgery to fix. That fact didn't surprise his position coach, Dustin Royston, given the way that Butler plays linebacker.
"I talked to him a few weeks ago," Royston recalled, "and said 'if you're lucky enough to play this game for the long time, the way you play, you're a violent player. So, you're going to have injuries.' It's the guys that can overcome those and get back (that stick around)."
The surgery decision was a tough one, but Butler isn't the type of player that puts off something to deal with it later. He'd rather attack it head on. That, plus a bit of advice from his captain, Jordan Ferguson, who also missed an entire season of football earlier in his college career, kept him focused.
"He talked to me before I even went through it," Butler said of Ferguson. "'Some days are going to be bad. Some days are going to be dark.' I feel like, throughout the process, it made me better as a player, as a man."
Butler took a redshirt that fall and missed all of spring ball as well rehabbing the knee from that surgery, working with the myriad trainers like Carli Vinning, Kelli Hurt and Ulises Jardon that spend countless hours with Blue Raider student-athletes to get them back on the field.
During that long road back, however, his linebacker room had changed. Devyn Curtis had asserted himself as the MIKE of the present and future in 2022, while the addition of Sam Brumfield, another JUCO product that impressed in the spring, left Royston with a conundrum. All three of those players could clearly excel at the MIKE for MTSU, but having any one of them third on the depth chart for reps during practice wouldn't make the defense any better.
Given Butler was entering his fourth season in the MTSU system, Royston quickly found a solution: move Butler over to SAM, while giving him occasional reps at MIKE as well.
"I knew Butler knew the defense well enough," Royston said. And in the SAM position, you can make a lot of plays."
The SAM, perhaps better known as strong-side linebacker, operates on the edge of the defense, something Butler has found eye-opening as he's gotten more reps there in 2023.
"In my opinion, it's easier," Butler said with a smile. "At MIKE, you're in the middle. At the SAM, yeah, you can help set calls. But at MIKE, that's your responsibility. You've got to be gap sound, responsible. You can't just play ball as much as the SAM can, see-ball-get-ball."
Butler saw the ball and got the ball in the Blue Raiders' first game of the season on the road at Alabama, finishing second on the team with seven tackles including a sack against the Crimson Tide, but the redshirt senior was forced to leave the game midway through that contest, and then got worse news coming back he'd have to miss a little bit longer after tweaking his knee again.
That wasn't too much of a hurdle for Butler, however, who dressed but did not play just three games later against Colorado State. The competitor in him wanted to go against the Rams, but as soon as he warmed up against the Hilltoppers just five days later, he knew the coaches holding him back was the right call, feeling much more himself at that time than he did last Saturday.
Butler would finish the night in Bowling Green with six tackles, third on the team, and another TFL. And in a room that's had a lot of injuries early, Royston noted, getting someone with Butler's experience, versatility and play style back can play dividends as MTSU gets further into CUSA play.
"At this point, I'm used to it," Butler said of fighting through another injury. "Whatever comes at you, you've got to deal with it either way it goes. So you're either going to suck it up and deal with it now or you're going to prolong the situation and deal with it later."
1st and 10 at WKU37 | No Huddle-Shotgun Stepp,Markese rush left for 3 yards gain to the WKU40 (Butler,Johnathan).
2nd and 7 at WKU40 | No Huddle-Shotgun Stepp,Markese rush middle for 2 yards gain to the WKU42 (Butler,Johnathan).
3rd and 5 at WKU42 | No Huddle-Shotgun Reed,Austin pass complete short left to Young,Elijah for 1 yard loss to the WKU41 (Butler,Johnathan).
On paper, and to those watching early on Thursday night, it was a typical three-and-out for the Hilltoppers, only made a bit unusual by the same player making the stop for the Blue Raiders, linebacker Johnathan Butler, on each play.
But for Butler, who was making just his second appearance of the season after battling persistent injuries the past couple of years, the powerful tackle for loss along the WKU sideline to close out the series and force a punt was only business as usual for the redshirt senior.
"For me, that's where I like to take my anger out, all that frustration," Butler said of the football field. "That year being away from the game, I had to figure out how to deal with that. It was just fun being out there."
A JUCO product that came to Murfreesboro by way of Highland CC, Butler quickly found himself in the mix in the linebacker room during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, combining to appear in 18 games with 16 starts at middle linebacker while making 91 tackles during his first two seasons as a Blue Raider.
Thanks to an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Butler was ready to go for his senior season in 2022, but quickly realized during fall camp that he wasn't quite himself.
"My knee was feeling weird, I got to the third day of camp and it was swollen (so badly), I really couldn't go," Butler said. "Even though I tried. I went to get an MRI and then everything just hit the fan."
The MRI revealed that cartilage was no longer attached to that right knee, something that would require surgery to fix. That fact didn't surprise his position coach, Dustin Royston, given the way that Butler plays linebacker.
"I talked to him a few weeks ago," Royston recalled, "and said 'if you're lucky enough to play this game for the long time, the way you play, you're a violent player. So, you're going to have injuries.' It's the guys that can overcome those and get back (that stick around)."
The surgery decision was a tough one, but Butler isn't the type of player that puts off something to deal with it later. He'd rather attack it head on. That, plus a bit of advice from his captain, Jordan Ferguson, who also missed an entire season of football earlier in his college career, kept him focused.
"He talked to me before I even went through it," Butler said of Ferguson. "'Some days are going to be bad. Some days are going to be dark.' I feel like, throughout the process, it made me better as a player, as a man."
Butler took a redshirt that fall and missed all of spring ball as well rehabbing the knee from that surgery, working with the myriad trainers like Carli Vinning, Kelli Hurt and Ulises Jardon that spend countless hours with Blue Raider student-athletes to get them back on the field.
During that long road back, however, his linebacker room had changed. Devyn Curtis had asserted himself as the MIKE of the present and future in 2022, while the addition of Sam Brumfield, another JUCO product that impressed in the spring, left Royston with a conundrum. All three of those players could clearly excel at the MIKE for MTSU, but having any one of them third on the depth chart for reps during practice wouldn't make the defense any better.
Given Butler was entering his fourth season in the MTSU system, Royston quickly found a solution: move Butler over to SAM, while giving him occasional reps at MIKE as well.
"I knew Butler knew the defense well enough," Royston said. And in the SAM position, you can make a lot of plays."
The SAM, perhaps better known as strong-side linebacker, operates on the edge of the defense, something Butler has found eye-opening as he's gotten more reps there in 2023.
"In my opinion, it's easier," Butler said with a smile. "At MIKE, you're in the middle. At the SAM, yeah, you can help set calls. But at MIKE, that's your responsibility. You've got to be gap sound, responsible. You can't just play ball as much as the SAM can, see-ball-get-ball."
Butler saw the ball and got the ball in the Blue Raiders' first game of the season on the road at Alabama, finishing second on the team with seven tackles including a sack against the Crimson Tide, but the redshirt senior was forced to leave the game midway through that contest, and then got worse news coming back he'd have to miss a little bit longer after tweaking his knee again.
That wasn't too much of a hurdle for Butler, however, who dressed but did not play just three games later against Colorado State. The competitor in him wanted to go against the Rams, but as soon as he warmed up against the Hilltoppers just five days later, he knew the coaches holding him back was the right call, feeling much more himself at that time than he did last Saturday.
Butler would finish the night in Bowling Green with six tackles, third on the team, and another TFL. And in a room that's had a lot of injuries early, Royston noted, getting someone with Butler's experience, versatility and play style back can play dividends as MTSU gets further into CUSA play.
"At this point, I'm used to it," Butler said of fighting through another injury. "Whatever comes at you, you've got to deal with it either way it goes. So you're either going to suck it up and deal with it now or you're going to prolong the situation and deal with it later."
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