Coaches from all over the ACC area gathered for the North-South All-Star game in Columbia, SC in late July of 1975. The game, which is now played at Myrtle Beach in December, was the final high school event of the year and a final showcase for soon-to-be first-year freshman.
Ninety percent of the participants were highly recruited signees from the previous February who were ready to join Division I schools from all over the Southeast. But, at one juncture of the game a wide receiver who had not signed a football scholarship with any school took over the game.
Jimmy Kiser, a future ACC assistant football coach, threw a pass over the middle to a wide receiver named Jerry Butler of Ware Shoals High School. Butler turned on the speed and raced untouched 70 yards for a score. The college coaches, who were not familiar with the track star, took notice and collectively asked, "Who is that guy?"
That included the Clemson coaches. Much to their glee, they discovered by the end of the evening, that Jerry Odel Butler was in fact coming to Clemson...on a track scholarship.
Butler went on to star at Clemson, earning first-team AP All-America honors, and leading Clemson to uncharted team accomplishments. In 1999, Butler became the sixth member of the Clemson Football Ring of Honor, the highest honor accorded a Tiger gridder.
Whatever the means of his sojourn to Clemson, the school has certainly been a better place because of Butler's attendance. A diligent student who earned his degree in 1980. Butler is a standard for wide receivers and Clemson players regardless of position.
Statistically, Butler's accomplishments are countless. He was a model of consistency, as shown by his 35-game streak of making at least one reception, a streak he set between 1976-78, a record that is still in tact today. He concluded his career with 139 receptions for 2,223 yards and 11 touchdowns, a 16-yards per catch rate. All those figures are still in the top five in Clemson history. Butler still holds the Clemson single game reception yardage record with 163 against Georgia Tech in 1977. His 58 catches in 1978 stood as a record until 1997.
The honors certainly followed, especially after his senior year. Butler appeared on the Bob Hope Christmas Special in 1978 due to his selection to the Associated Press All-America team, the only first-team AP All-America receiver in Clemson history.
While Clemson fans will always remember his considerable statistics and honors, one play stands out. At South Carolina in 1977, Clemson trailed the Gamecocks 27-24 in the final minutes. The Tigers needed a victory to clinch a Gator Bowl berth, a selecction that would be Clemson's first bowl invitation since 1959.
Steve Fuller, also a member of Clemson's Football Ring of Honor, quarterbacked Clemson to the South Carolina 20. With just 49 seconds left, Fuller lofted a ball to the right corner of the endzone toward Butler. Using every ounce of his exceptional athletic ability, Butler made a leaping backwards diving reception, giving Clemson a 31-27 victory. |
