Interview with Stanford Cardinal CB Commitment Treyjohn Butler

Written by Ryan Wright

Piece by piece Stanford has put together one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. On Friday the Cardinal accepted a verbal commitment from 4-star cornerback Treyjohn Butler pushing the 2016 class to a No. 12 ranking per Rivals.

Butler is a shutdown corner for Etiwanda High School who does not mind coming up to make the big hit. During his junior season, offenses wisely stayed away from his side of the field limiting him to 28 tackles, 16 solo, two tackles for a loss, and one pick. When offenses tried to pick on him in 2013 he made the coaches pay totaling 35 stops with seven interceptions.

A lot of programs have shown interest in Butler including Arizona, Michigan, LSU, Notre Dame, UCLA, Texas A&M, USC, and Wisconsin. Schools that have already offered include Washington, Northwestern, Illinois, Colorado, Washington State, Cal, and Arizona State.

Butler enters his senior season with a new head coach, Coach Kevin Davis, after the Eagles posted a disappointing 4-5-1 mark in 2014. With a new coach and a new season, the 5’11”, 190 pound, corner is excited about his senior season and what may come.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview I sat down with Treyjohn to go over his offseason workouts preparing for his senior campaign, got some insight on his commitment to Stanford, and got a couple of interesting recruiting news updates.

Interview
Treyjohn, how does Etiwanda High School look entering the 2015 season?

“We are really excited. We have a new coaching staff with a plan that works with our players as well as a goal for us to achieve great things. Head coach Kevin Davis brought in a new mentality. He is really positive. We have a lot of positives on this team. There is never anything negative with this team. Everyone is speaking up and speak right. For me with that mentality, whatever we do has had a great outcome in the short time that he has been here. We are all really excited for the season to begin.”

Have you had a chance to look at the 2015 schedule yet and if so are there a couple of games you are excited to play this year?

“We have a few games I’m excited to play. Game 1 against Norco is a really big game. We lost to them last year in a very close game (31-28). I’m looking forward to playing our cross-town rival Summit High School (Fontana). We turn that game into a bowl game. I’m looking forward to our league opener against Upland. That game is always personal because they are a dominate team in our league. The chance to beat them during my senior year is a big opportunity. Also, our game against Rancho (Cucamonga), they are our city rival. That game is a lot more personal with the fans. It’s always great to play in that game because of the level of excitement and how packed the stands are with the student sections.”

What have you worked on during the offseason to prepare for your senior season?

“I went back to the basics working on all fundamentals, footwork, and all of that stuff. I was training with one of my greatest coaches, Coach Rob as well as Coach Terrail (Rharebreed Training Athletic Academy). They’ve been working on my game and slowing it down completely. We’ve been working on all different types of coverages and techniques as well as hill training, sandpit workouts, and constantly working at perfecting my craft. The big thing I can say from this summer from last season is back pedaling. I’ve been doing that a lot. I’ve also done over thousands of meters done pulling weight trying to help keep my center of gravity low. That has helped tremendously getting back into camp.”

What are your goals for the 2015 football season?

“To be there for my team. I want to be held accountable on every play and every down we have. I want to be there in times of need. I want to get a ring for this team as well as for myself. I want to set a school record for interceptions this year as well as try to break the Inland Empire record for the most interceptions.”

What is the record?

“I believe its 16 or 17 for the Inland Empire.”

Do you honestly think opposing offensive coordinators are going to throw your way enough at cornerback to get close to that record?

“I’m playing a lot more safety this year than corner. I’ll see the whole field and I’m able to cover side line to sideline. I’ll be able to find the ball and make a play.”

That works. That makes the plan achievable then. That ties into my next question, where all will we see you line up on the field this season?

“Wherever the coach needs me. If the coach needs me to be a playmaker in a time of need he can put me on offense at wide receiver as well as a punt returner returning punts. I just want to make plays and be a playmaker for the team. I want to lead the defense and be the captain of the defense. I want to take everyone together like soldiers, be the leader, and go to war every week.”

What led you to commit to Stanford?

“My decision to commit to Stanford was mainly about my family and my life after football and my ability to help provide for my family; also the recruiting class going in there. There are a lot of great guys going there. I’m getting to know them. The coaching staff is remarkable. Coach (Duane) Akina (defensive backs coach) is a really good person and an easy person to speak to. They are coaches but they are like fathers in the way they treat their players. They are interested in the players. That is the type of men that they are.

“Also the professors at Stanford. I got a chance to sit down with some of them when I went there. I fell in love with what they had to say. Those were a lot of the factors that I dealt with.”

I saw that you had a Top 4 of Cal, Arizona State, Northwestern, and Stanford. What was the one thing that put Stanford over the top against the other schools you were seriously considering?

“Stanford didn’t talk about anybody else. Stanford told me about Stanford. That was the game plan for them. Every other school that I talked to felt the need to put down the other schools that I had scholarship offers to. That was not intriguing to me. It was wasting time about other schools that you are not at and talking about other schools. That was a big selling point on my final day.”

Do you plan on taking all five of your official visits during your senior year?

“I plan on trying to get out to see some schools that I have not seen. Possibly look around a little bit but I’m unsure about that because I’m set on Stanford but I’ll see how the season sets up and go from there.”

Do you have an idea which schools may receive your official visits other than Stanford? Do you plan on going to schools in your Top 4 or schools on the other side of the country?

“I feel like more offers will come during my senior season. I might head out to the east coast and Midwest. I’d like to try to get to Washington if I can and Northwestern for sure. Those are two areas I want to get to. Besides that, the local schools I don’t plan on visiting.”

Do you plan on recruiting other players to join you at Stanford?

“No not really, but I do have an old teammate of mine that I used to run track with at Pasadena. I’m hoping he decides to come over to the Farm, Dylan Crawford (4-star wide receiver). I have to see where his mind’s at and see if that’s what he wants to do with me.”

Good luck this season.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: insidesocal.com; No. 8 Treyjohn Butler defends a pass.
Photo credit: scout.com; Treyjohn Butler.