Bryce Butler took the long road to the Texas Tech football program
· Yahoo Sports
It would probably be hard to find a Texas Tech football player who takes for granted the team's nearly new facilities that cost more than $240 million to build.
It might be hard to find a player who appreciates all the luxuries more than defensive tackle Bryce Butler, considering he spent two years at a Kansas community college where accommodations are, well, more spartan.
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"Juco was a big eye opener for me," Butler said after practice on Thursday, April 9. "I've seen a lot of people come and go in juco. It came down to how bad do I really want it, because there were points in juco where I was like, I'm barely eating sometimes. It was rough; I'll say that.
"I just took advantage of what I had. We had a little weight room. I was in there every day. I was on the field every day by myself just trying to perfect my craft and God blessed it, opened up some opportunities for me."
Butler's a 6-foot-4, 325-pound fifth-year senior. Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, he spent a year at a prep school in Connecticut, two years at Garden City (Kan.) Community College and the past two years at Washington. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons combined at Garden City, he was credited with 59 tackles, including 15 1/2 tackles for loss with 8 sacks. He was second-team all-conference both seasons.
From Garden City, Butler committed to Arizona, but when then-Wildcats coach Jedd Fisch resigned, Butler followed Fisch to Washington. In 12 games last season for the Huskies, he was credited with 19 tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery.
He transferred to Texas Tech in January.
"They're building something special here," he said, "so I was like, 'Man, I want to be a part to be a part of that.' "
From Tech's 12-win Orange Bowl team, only two of the top six defensive tackles return, and one of the two, Jayden Cofield, will miss the first half of next season rehabbing from Achilles tendon surgery. To fill all the holes on the depth chart, Tech took four defensive tackles from the transfer portal: Butler, Mateen Ibirogba from Wake Forest, Julien Laventure from Akron and JoJo Johnson from Oregon State.
"In the defensive tackle room, Bryce Butler has done a great job," Tech coach Joey McGuire said on Monday, April 6. "I feel really good about him. Julien has done a really good job. I thought JoJo had his best week last week, getting comfortable in the defense. When you have Mateen and (returning second-team all-American) A.J. (Holmes) in the game at the same time, I can see that being a big third-down package, just because those two guys, from an interior position, can really rush the passer."
With Tech's recent success and top-notch facilities, the Red Raiders' staff has been able to sell upperclassmen portal players that a year or two in Lubbock can maximize their NFL chances. As a rotation type defensive lineman, Butler hopes new defensive line coach Imarjaye Albury Sr. can improve his pass rush.
"To get to the next level, you've got to have pass rush," Butler said, "so I would say I definitely want my pass rush to be as close to perfect as possible by the time the season rolls around. That way, I don't miss the opportunity."
In the meantime, Butler might have to pinch himself when he shows up each day. One of the perks of being a Tech athlete is the Cash Family Nutrition Center, a $5.56 million project. When the dining hall opened in 2020, Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt joked with attendees that he ate his share of macaroni and cheese and ramen noodles during his days as a Kansas State player.
Butler can relate. During his juco days, Butler said, the cafeteria wasn't an every-day option. He was forced to develop some culinary skills, look for fast food and even reach out to family up in Toronto.
"Dollar menu," he said. "Trying to cook, asking my siblings if they could Door Dash me some food or something, asking my friends to take me to the grocery store ... ."
Between more and healthier food options around Texas Tech and all the other amenities of the Womble Football Center, Butler figures there's no excuse not to have his best year yet.
"Every facility is going to have basic necessities," he said, "but this just takes it to another level. I don't even know how many players lounges we have in here. I haven't even been in all of them, in all the recovery rooms, but just being able to take advantage of all those resources, I feel like it's going to help me take my game to the next level."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Bryce Butler took the long road to the Texas Tech football program