Utah was the only school that stuck with me and they were my first Pac-12 offer so I that’s how I ended up coming here. – Cory Butler-Byrd, on why he chose Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — From the moment he arrived in Utah earlier this month, Cory Butler-Byrd found himself in the middle of a tug of war.
The Ute offensive coaches wanted Butler-Byrd to play receiver and the Ute defensive coaches wanted him to play defensive back. So Butler-Byrd was tried at both positions for a week before head coach Kyle Whittingham made the final decision.
Butler-Byrd would be a cornerback.
That made both Butler-Byrd and cornerback coach Sharrieff Shah happy.
How happy?
“Ecstatic, elated, overjoyed,’’ said Shah, who was one of Butler-Byrd’s main recruiters. “I love it.’’
Butler-Byrd says he’s thrilled to be playing his more natural defensive back position.
“I preferred to play defense because I’ve been playing it my whole life,’’ he said. “I played offense my whole life too, but was primarily a running back. When I got here and they wanted me to run routes the way a receiver is supposed to, it was going to take me some time to get used to it. So I went back to defense, which is a better fit with the team. It’s been great.’’
Shah claims he didn’t lobby for Butler-Byrd, but admitted, “I certainly mentioned it more than once to coach Whit. But he’s the final arbiter over which position a kid will play and he felt like Cory should be given a chance to play defensive back.’’
As a receiver, Butler-Byrd “did an outstanding job,’’ according to Shah. “But Cory said he’d like to play DB and he did and was phenomenal. So we want to use him and develop him in that role.’’
For the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Butler-Byrd, who just recently added the “Byrd” to his last name to honor his mother, Miesha, who raised him by herself, it’s been a long journey to get to Utah.
He grew up with six siblings in the tough neighborhoods of Compton and East Los Angeles and also lived in Georgia for a couple of years.
“Me and my mom and brothers did a lot of traveling and moving around,’’ he said.
He had the talent on the football field, which he showed at Centennial High School, but didn’t have the grades to get into a major college.
“UCLA looked at me out of high school, but once I had to take the (junior college) route they backed off. USC was looking at me for a little while and I went to their camp and did great, but they pretty much said I was too small and didn’t offer.’’
Growing up, Butler-Byrd said he played every position on the field, except center and he even played defensive line in high school. While he didn’t have the size, he says, “I had the heart to do it.’’
As for getting moved around during his initial two weeks in Utah, he took it in stride. “I’ve played everywhere so moving around didn’t make much of a difference.’’
He played some quarterback when he was younger and was a running back in high school and didn’t play receiver until his freshman year at Los Angeles Harbor College, where he caught 42 passes for 583 yards and seven touchdowns. Last year, he mostly played defense and had five interceptions and 47 tackles, but also had 10 catches as a receiver and averaged 24.7 yards as a kickoff returner.
He was listed as a four-star recruit by Scout.com and Rivals.com and though he started getting attention from other schools, he stuck with Utah, which he said was the only school to stay loyal to him.
“In high school I had a lot of trials and tribulations and had to take the junior college route and had more trials and tribulations. But I got all the work done and did everything I have to do. Utah was the only school that stuck with me and they were my first Pac-12 offer so I that’s how I ended up coming here.’’
Now that he’s here, Butler-Byrd finds Salt Lake City completely different from Compton.
“It’s quiet here,’’ he said. “Out there all you hear are helicopters and sirens and everything. It’s just so loud in the city. It’s safer here — you can walk around and not have nothing done to you. It’s really a place where you can come and focus. There’s not too many distractions.’’
While Shah wouldn’t say Butler-Byrd is the starter after being on the job less than two weeks, the latest depth chart shows Butler-Byrd as the starter at right cornerback.
Perhaps Shah was trying to be fair to Brain Allen, who came into camp as one of the starting corners with Reggie Porter after Dominique Hatfield had his troubles and is now listed as the backup at both corner spots.
Shah said Butler-Byrd is “working his way” to a starting spot but then added, “he has to play . . . he has to play.’’