After two consecutive defeats to end an otherwise excellent season, Princeton football is perhaps facing a significant loss to its roster, as first-year running back Ryan Butler has entered the transfer portal. Butler retweeted a post from @FarrellPortal on Twitter last week, indicating that he is looking at the possibility of transferring for next season.
Butler, one of the standout first-years in the Ivy League and perhaps all of college football, developed into quite the player over the course of the season and became a key cog in the Tigers’ offense. In his first collegiate game against Stetson University, he rushed for two touchdowns and 67 yards in a victory. In Ivy League play, Butler had monster performances against rivals Brown and Harvard. Over the course of these two games, the running back had a total of 178 rushing yards and three touchdowns to help the Tigers to two resounding victories.
Butler’s season totals included 501 total yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, and roughly 3.9 rushing yards per attempt. His season garnered him recognition as a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, a prestigious award given to the most impressive first-year in all of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
As Butler enters the transfer portal, he already has offers on the table from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Texas State University, and the University at Albany. Charlotte and Texas State compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest subdivision of Division I football. Albany competes in FCS.
Head Coach Bob Surace ’90 declined to comment to The Daily Princetonian on the news. “It’s always been my policy not to comment on individual off-season roster decisions like recruiting or the portal,” he wrote in an email.
Butler also declined to provide comment to the ‘Prince.’
If Butler transfers, it is without question that the Tigers will have a massive hole to fill in the backfield when the 2023 season kicks off.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Albany competes in the FBS. They compete in the FCS. The ‘Prince’ regrets this error.
Cole Keller is a contributor to the Data and Sports sections at the ‘Prince.’ Please direct any corrections requests to corrections at dailyprincetonian.com.
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