2KJ: Butts carried the load for '23 Trojans
Dec. 30—The word "productive" doesn't quite cover it. "Impressive" comes closer, but perhaps the hyphenated descriptor "eye-popping" is more fitting to illustrate what John Milledge Academy senior running back Javian Butts accomplished on the field during the 2023 season.
Well over 2,000 yards rushing at nine yards per carry. Twenty-eight touchdowns on the ground. Over 2,700 yards of total offense and 32 touchdowns accounted for. Stats don't lie. Butts had one of the best seasons a running back in this area has ever had.
There's more evidence. Out of 13 games played, there was only one — the season-opening 43-3 win over Brentwood where his services were not needed late — that Butts did not reach the end zone. On only three occasions did he not surpass the century mark rushing in a game, and just once did he not hit triple-digit yardage between his rushing and receiving totals. Think about how many high school ball carriers there are, first in the state of Georgia, and second across the nation. According to MaxPreps, his rushing yards total was the sixth-most in all of Georgia this year regardless of league or classification and 84th in the entire country.
That's just the perspective from 1,000 feet up. Even more fun was the field-level view on Friday nights, watching Butts easily outrun defenses to the edge and refuse to be taken down by just one tackler. If there was a decision to be made between going out of bounds without taking a hit or ramming through a defender for a few extra yards, Butts always took the hard way. And betting that the sticks would not move after a touch by the John Milledge running back would be money lost.
After hitting the weight room once his junior year was over, Butts came out for his senior season looking almost like a fullback. He entered with the goal in mind to hit 2,000 yards rushing, replicating a feat last accomplished by former JMA great RB Amaad Foston in 2019. The outlook wasn't great following the Trojans' preseason scrimmage. Yards accumulated in that dress rehearsal, of course, do not count, but Butts was limited as John Milledge was breaking in an all-new offensive line. Patience is a skill that serves a running back well, and he learned it that hot August day when the holes just did not open up.
"The coaches were telling me to take it slow and keep my composure," Butts said. "I felt like we should have been ready no matter what, but I understood what they were saying."
Then it was on to the regular season. Butts' yardage barrage began in earnest during the Week 3 win over George Walton when he totaled 183 yards on the ground. He really hit his stride a couple weeks later as 191 yards (and the first of two, five-TD performances) against Brookwood set a new season-high. It was during that game the Trojans lost starting quarterback Kolt McMichael to a knee injury. He would be out for the next week's game at Pinewood, a team that would have liked nothing more than to take advantage and knock John Milledge football off its pedestal. The Patriots led several times throughout the contest, but Butts, despite the opposition knowing he would be used more in McMichael's absence, stepped up in a big way. Thirty carries for 307 yards and three touchdowns, along with one catch for 44 yards and another score, was his stat line for the night that ended in a 49-33 Trojan victory. He scored a 65-yard TD to tie up the game 21-all before half, and put the game out of reach on a 50-yard dash with four minutes to go. Seven games in, Butts was flirting with his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.
"It was a big game for all of us," he said. "It was a struggle but we got through it. That's when I knew it was time for me to go for 2,000 because I was already reaching the 1,000 mark. That showed me I could strive for more."
With up to six games remaining, it was still going to take a monster effort for the senior to hit his 2K goal. What came next was a great season unto itself: 282 yards against Stratford; 142 at eventual GIAA Class 4A champion FPD; 163 in a blowout over Mount de Sales; 185 (and five total TDs) when Tattnall Square came to town. An easy 150 in the playoff opener against Tiftarea. No opponent liked to see Butts toting the football, but that was especially true for Pinewood, John Milledge's rematch opponent in the semifinals. Butts in that game went for 284 and three touchdowns, giving him nearly 600 yards and six rushing TDs across only two contests versus the Patriots of southeast Georgia. It was during the semifinal matchup that Butts ran past his 2,000-yard goal.
"It feels great to accomplish what I said I wanted to do," he said.
Then came the heartbreaker. Riding a state record 62-game winning streak that included four consecutive state championships, Butts and the Trojans took one on the chin versus Valwood in the finals. The game was tied late in the third, but the Valiants, with their weapons all over the field, pulled away late. The JMA running back played the role of consoler following the tough loss that saw him finish with 134 all-purpose yards and one touchdown.
"I was just trying to keep everybody's heads up," Butts said. "Streaks break. It sucked for a lot of us, but it's time to restart and come back harder."
As a senior, Butts obviously will not be a part of that effort as the Trojans look to come back harder in 2024. He's in search of his home at the next level. It was already difficult to get recruited out of a small school like John Milledge. College football's transfer portal has made things even more challenging as schools are recruiting via that avenue more and more with eased transfer restrictions. Meanwhile, a lesson learned during the early part of this season is paying off.
"I'm not mad or anything," Butts said. "I understand it. I'm just waiting it out and trying to stay patient."
