Butler’s ready to serve

By Joe Mason
Times Sports Editor

It was evident he was gifted the first time he touched a football.
But what Jerry Butler brought to the George Washington High School football team was much more than his lightning-fast running ability.
Butler, a senior running back who finished his high school football career last month, did everything for the Eagles.
He rushed for a school-record 1,759 yards this season. He guided the Eagles to a 12-1 record, with the biggest victory coming in the Public League championship game against Northeast.
Jerry Butler also was a tough guy for opposing teams to keep out of the end zone. He reached it 24 times, with 22 of those scores coming on running plays.
His stats include nine catches for 165 yards and another score, plus he played some defensive back and returned kicks and punts, dashing the distance with one punt for a touchdown.
Staggering numbers. Lightning speed. But that combination is just part of the story of why he came to be regarded as perhaps the best high school football player in the city this season.
The other part of the story occurred just moments after Butler and his Eagles teammates hung tough — but lost, 15-10 — in a Nov. 27 game against Easton in the first round of the state playoffs.
The Eagles had just shaken the hands of their opponents after the heartbreaking loss. Butler walked over to join his teammates, gathered around coach Ron Cohen.
Jerry Butler, like other Washington High players upset that there would be no storybook ending to a fabled season, was fighting tears.
"Y’all better keep your head up," he scolded. "We went out there and gave it our all, and we did better than anyone said we would. Y’all better keep those heads up."
The words of encouragement, of pride, seemed to sink in. The Eagles players raised their heads, sat up straight — the anguish on their faces slowly gave way to a stoicism that comes when things aren’t meant to be, and they seemingly remembered the remarkable season that brought them to this point. They looked like the football team that won 12 games during the season.
o o
That was nearly a month ago, the past. Now, as he finishes his senior year at Washington High, Jerry Butler is looking to the future. It is likely there will be more heroics, more touchdowns, more cheers.
Last week, the University of Wisconsin offered him a scholarship and a chance to play football.
On Dec. 12, Butler, who maintains a 3.0 grade-point average in the classroom, gave a verbal commitment to the Badgers’ head coach, Barry Alvarez, that he would accept the scholarship offer from the Big 10 school.
Truth is, his decision didn’t take that long. After making an official visit to the school, Butler had fallen in love with Wisconsin and was confident that he wanted to play football for the Badgers.
"I really didn’t ever watch college football," Butler said last week. "But every time I had a chance to, it was usually Nebraska or Wisconsin. And Wisconsin recruited me from the start.
"I knew I wanted to go there, but when I went out there, I just knew I had to play there. It’s very beautiful out there," he said, "and everyone was so excited when I decided to make my commitment."
Butler will continue to enjoy the rest of his time in Philadelphia. The Frankford native plans to run once again on the Eagles’ track team and continue his workouts in the weightroom. He assigns equal importance to working hard in the classroom to maintain his grade-point average.
And he will hang out with his friends.
There is little doubt about his talents on a football field. Butler has been clocked at 4.1 seconds in the 40-yard dash, and he has packed a lot of strength into his 5-foot-10, 175-pound frame, an elusive comet who played on the same field against far bigger defensive linemen.
Butler seems uncomfortable talking about his success. He prefers to deflect the credit to his teammates, patting them on the back for his good fortune and the team’s season.
"This year was all about my teammates," Butler said. "You could see it yourself . . . we had a lot of players who were great. It wasn’t me. This wasn’t the Jerry Butler show. This was the Eagles playing great football.
"The defense was great," Butler mused. "They had a better year than the offense. And we had a lot of great players in this offense."
o o
Jerry Butler, like any good running back, is quite happy to particularly single out his offensive line as the biggest supporting cast. He couldn’t have done it, Butler says, without an O-line that included center Lance Gribbin, rotating guards David Gonser, Nolan Young and Stefan Ruff, tackles David Patton and Demitrius Wilson, and rotating tight ends John McFillin, Dominique Curry and Jelani Washington.
"I would give up my arm and my legs for this line because they are the most important thing going in our offense," Butler said during the season.
His conviction about that was just as strong once the season ended.
"I got all the credit, but it was those guys who should be in the paper every day," Butler said. "I’m the guy who got the yards, but they were the ones doing all the work. They worked so hard. Everyone on the team worked hard, but a lot of us got a lot of credit. They didn’t, but they didn’t mind. They just went out and protected us."
Looking back, Jerry Butler’s magical season actually hit a low point before it began. His best friend and fellow Eagles player, J.J. Reynolds, suffered a severe neck injury in a preseason game against Dobbins.
Since the summer, Reynolds has made great progress but he still is unable to walk. Every couple of days, Butler pays a visit to his friend, to see how things are going and to offer encouragement.
Reynolds’ misfortune saddened Butler. But it also may have inspired the quality of his play on the field.
"That was the only bad part of the season, but J.J. is tough and he has more heart than anyone I know," Butler said. "He’s going to walk again, it doesn’t matter what the doctors say. This whole season was dedicated to him . . . he was our inspiration."
As Butler prepares for his move to Wisconsin, he vows to always remember his days at Washington. And considering his impact on the school and its football team, it’s a good bet that Washington High will remember him.
"I had a great time playing for coach Cohen and playing with these guys," Butler said. "It was a great season. I’m looking forward to Wisconsin, but I’ll always miss playing here." ••
Sports Editor Joe Mason can be reached at 215-354-3035 or jmason@phillynews.com