Spring Break
Reyes making the switch, getting the start
Kevin Duffy
Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: Sports
"I told him to stay low, stay stout and be explosive," Martin said. "He's doing a good job already. Both me and him have a lot of stuff to work on, but we're only going to get better."
Butler on the road to recovery
When he first went down, Darius Butler thought his career was over.
"It was upsetting knowing I couldn't get up," Butler said. "I wasn't even thinking about that game, but the rest of the season. Just thinking that my career was going to end when I was on the bench - they told me how long I was going to be out - it was tough."
Butler soon found out that the awkward twist his knee made while blocking on a kick-off return in the third quarter versus West Virginia caused ligament damage to his left knee and would keep him out at least 4-6 weeks.
Butler, who joked that he would want to be out there for Sunday's South Florida game, said a return for a Dec. 6 season-closer against Pittsburgh or a bowl game was a more realistic possibility.
Instead of wasting time and feeling sorry for himself, Butler bought into the rehab right away and has made vast improvements since the injury occurred 17 days ago.
"I was blessed that it wasn't an ACL or a broken bone," Butler said. "I had pretty successful career in college. I played a lot more games than most people played. I kind of looked at the cup half-full and I still have a career left in me to play, so I feel kind of lucky, actually."
That career, of course, is in the NFL - a league that most scouts envision Butler playing in next season. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound cornerback was at one time ranked as ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. No. 12 available prospect for the 2009 NFL Draft. Since the injury, he's fallen off Kiper's "Big Board," but he still projects as Kiper's No. 3 overall cornerback, a ranking that should earn him, at worst, a second-round pick. Butler isn't the least bit concerned about risking his potential pro career by coming back for next week's match-up with Pitt, however.
"I talk to guys in the NFL all the time, Tyvon [Branch], Danny [Lansanah], Donald [Thomas]," Butler said. "They all say there's nothing like college football, man. These are your brothers out here."
Butler on the road to recovery
When he first went down, Darius Butler thought his career was over.
"It was upsetting knowing I couldn't get up," Butler said. "I wasn't even thinking about that game, but the rest of the season. Just thinking that my career was going to end when I was on the bench - they told me how long I was going to be out - it was tough."
Butler soon found out that the awkward twist his knee made while blocking on a kick-off return in the third quarter versus West Virginia caused ligament damage to his left knee and would keep him out at least 4-6 weeks.
Butler, who joked that he would want to be out there for Sunday's South Florida game, said a return for a Dec. 6 season-closer against Pittsburgh or a bowl game was a more realistic possibility.
Instead of wasting time and feeling sorry for himself, Butler bought into the rehab right away and has made vast improvements since the injury occurred 17 days ago.
"I was blessed that it wasn't an ACL or a broken bone," Butler said. "I had pretty successful career in college. I played a lot more games than most people played. I kind of looked at the cup half-full and I still have a career left in me to play, so I feel kind of lucky, actually."
That career, of course, is in the NFL - a league that most scouts envision Butler playing in next season. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound cornerback was at one time ranked as ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. No. 12 available prospect for the 2009 NFL Draft. Since the injury, he's fallen off Kiper's "Big Board," but he still projects as Kiper's No. 3 overall cornerback, a ranking that should earn him, at worst, a second-round pick. Butler isn't the least bit concerned about risking his potential pro career by coming back for next week's match-up with Pitt, however.
"I talk to guys in the NFL all the time, Tyvon [Branch], Danny [Lansanah], Donald [Thomas]," Butler said. "They all say there's nothing like college football, man. These are your brothers out here."
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