Davidson head coach Rick Cauley describes senior Derrick “DJ” Butler as “just a down to earth, good kid.”

On the football field, however, Butler is a menace to opposing defenses.

“Explosive play after explosive play,” Cauley said. “It’s incredible.”

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Coastal Carolina commit was a Class 7A first-team All-State running back as a junior. He rushed for 1,338 yards and 19 TDs on 184 carries with a high game of 277 yards.

“He’s the best I’ve ever seen,” Cauley said. “Some people question his size but when you watch him play and see his video, he looks huge to me. I don’t get that. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but DJ does so many subtle things to make people miss.”

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One of the top senior running backs in the state – and maybe the most underrated – wasn’t even a running back when he started his high school career. Butler played linebacker throughout his childhood and into the beginning of his prep career.

“When he was a freshman during the COVID year, he missed some time during the summer and then came back,” Cauley said. “We were trying to play him at linebacker. He also was running some of our scout team stuff. Our coaches realized then they had a hard time stopping him.

“As a freshman, with Saraland beating us like a drum, he scored a touchdown late in that game. DJ has always been able to see things naturally other kids may not see and, when you have vision, you have a chance. His skills caught up to his vision after a while and that is where he is now.”

Butler said he was happy to make the transition from linebacker, the position he played since he was 4, to the offensive backfield.

“We had a lot of guys on defense at that time,” he said. “Really all I was worried about at that point was getting on the field. It’s paid off in my favor. I feel like it came pretty natural to me. I actually liked it right away.”

As a sophomore, Butler rushed for 690 yards on 96 carries in just seven games. He scored 8 touchdowns. That led to his breakout junior season.

Opposing defenses have started to target Butler as a key to beating Davidson.

Often, it hasn’t worked out well for them.

“A lot of times, they will load the box, which is maybe the worst thing you can do because it creates a lot of one- or two-level defenses,” Cauley said. “When you do that, he tends to run off and get big plays.

“We had games last year where DJ would tell the offensive line not to climb to the linebackers, just to block the front line and he would make the other guys fit wrong. He knows how to hug obstruction. He stays in there tight and waits for his opportunity. If they don’t fit it perfectly, he always has a chance to squirt out of there.”

In a jamboree game against Baldwin County last week, Butler rushed for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns in just one half. He also had one score called back. The Warriors officially open the 2023 season Friday night in their new on-campus stadium against Hillcrest-Evergreen.

“I don’t really have any personal goals this year,” he said. “My goal is just to go out there and have fun and play football. I really do want to help my team make the playoffs and even go further if possible. That would really solidify my senior season.”

Butler committed to Coastal Carolina in July. He also had offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Alabama, Troy, UAB, UCF and West Virginia. He said this week he just liked the connection he felt at Coastal Carolina. Cauley has no doubt his star running back will succeed at that level.

“He will be the best running back on the field,” he said. “He will be the best at Coastal and, whoever Coastal is playing, he will be better than those guys as well. He can play very early. He’s a very smart football player. He gets it. He will be able to pick up any scheme quickly and, physically, he will be just fine because he will compete.”

Butler plans to stay at Davidson to complete senior year and said he will play basketball and baseball.

“He loves sports, loves people,” Cauley said. “He likes to be around other people. He will finish football practice and go to the volleyball match and take pictures there. That’s just who he is.”

Butler said photography is one of his main hobbies off the football field.

“I just love everything about it,” he said. “I feel like I can see the world through my lens.”