42 Days To K-State Football: Austin Butterfield Player Preview

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It’s Friday, it’s hot as hell, and my apartment is warm enough to bake biscuits without the oven. And what do we put on biscuits? GRAVY! (Wait – I meant to say butter. As in Austin Butterfield. You know, because – shoot, this joke is flopping so bad, let’s just get on with the player preview already.)

Austin Butterfield is a freshman out of Aurora, Colorado with preferred walk-on status. With Andre McDonald set to return, Zach Trujillo primed to step into the spotlight, and transfer Andre Jackson ready to help out there’s probably enough depth at the position that Butterfield is redshirted unless something extraordinary happens this season. At 6’4″ and only 207 pounds, Butterfield is not built like most tight ends. Granted, the position has evolved to place a much greater emphasis on pass catching over the past decade, but unless he really bulks it’s easy to envision him split wide once he sees the field.

Austin easily gets the nod to being placed on our All-Name team, despite his lack of scholarship. Interestingly, he was still announced with the team’s signing class (although it’s unknown whether this was an oversight by the athletic department or deliberate inclusion).  He recorded 10 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown his senior year and also served as the team’s punter, averaging 33 yards on 35 punts. His high school team also reached the Colorado State 5A semifinals one year.

Other than that, there’s not a lot of information out there on Butterfield and he’s a bit of an enigma. The Jug fully expects him to put some work in the weight room over the next year and so we can see what he’s capable of in 2014. To work backwards in our countdown, visit 43 days, where we preview LB Evan Loomis.