Utah’s two-way phenom Cory Butler-Byrd has not had the easiest upbringing, and his living situation has frequently been in flux. But even then he found something to live for, something to keep him going.
That thing is football.
Butler-Byrd grew up in the Los Angeles area and not in the nicest of neighborhoods. It came to the point where his mother decided she was not going to raise Butler-Byrd’s brother there with all the crime and violence they were living in. She moved to a suburban area in Georgia to have a better life and, interestingly enough, a better life is why Butler-Byrd stayed in LA.
Butler-Byrd knew if he really wanted to be recognized for his athletic ability, he would have to stay in California. His high school coaches took him in, but even then, he never really had a home. He still believed there would be a light at the end of the tunnel, however.
“I had to stay there if I wanted to get my family out of the situation that they were in,” Butler-Byrd said. “I didn’t have an actual home, I was moving from couch to couch. But it was all worth it — everything I’m accomplishing is because of it.”
Cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah is more than aware of what Butler-Byrd has had to overcome and that even with the hardships he has been given, he does not expect anything to be handed to him.
Part of what Shah admires in Butler-Byrd is his ability to stay level. If he makes a good play, like an interception, it does not go to his head. If for some reason he misses an assignment, he continues to work and does not give up.
“The man has been homeless, has been upended by so many people that loved him,” Shah said. “Been passed off by so many people and to only tell me, ‘Coach, I just want to play college ball because I think I can be really good,’ gives you a different level of joy when you recognize how hard it’s been for him to get where he’s at.”
It was not until his junior year of high school that Butler-Byrd decided he wanted to play college football. In his eyes, there was no other option because after high school, he was certain he would not have anything to lean back on.
He met with his coaches, made it a goal, and once Butler-Byrd puts his mind to something, he’ll make it happen.
“I’m just a determined guy,” Butler-Byrd said. “If I quit, I’m going to go back to nothing, so I had to get it done.”
The JUCO transfer is in a completely different position today. Now Butler-Byrd has people competing for him. The offense wants him scoring touchdowns as a receiver, and the defense wants him to keep causing turnovers. Shah wants Butler-Byrd to succeed wherever he is and view the fact that people have been fighting over his playing time as a blessing.
Another blessing has been the team itself.
All through Pop Warner, high school and then JUCO football, Butler-Byrd played with the same group of guys. It was this group of guys he could always rely on and go to whenever he had a problem. But coming to Utah was a completely new experience.
“Coming here, I was kind of on the edge and I didn’t really know how it was going to be. There was a lot of new faces,” Butler-Byrd said. “Just to be here and the love that they give me and the family environment that’s here made my transition much more comfortable.”
Boobie Hobbs has been right by his side and considers the transfer the best all-around athlete on this Ute squad.
“Can’t nobody run with [Butler-Byrd],” Hobbs said. “Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.”
Having seen what he’s seen, whenever Shah watches Butler-Byrd make a great play on the field, he cannot wait to speak to him after, even if he doesn’t always have the words to express how he really feels.
“When I see him and I embrace him, it’s so much in that embrace,” Shah said. “So much is transferred in my heart to his heart. It gives me a joy that’s almost hard to articulate.”
@kbrenneisen