Aaron Butler is the top-ranked recruit in Deion Sanders’ Colorado football recruiting Class of 2024. He is set to enroll early and join the Buffaloes in January after ending his senior high school season early by choice.
Butler, a four-star prospect, is the 65th-ranked overall player in his class and the fifth-ranked ‘Athlete.’ It is likely that he will play receiver for Coach Prime, but a move to defensive back is not out of the picture — and there is always a chance that he could go both ways like Travis Hunter Jr.
Either way, Butler will be part of a very small Colorado recruiting class.
Sanders made it very clear that his program will focus far less on high schoolers in the first few years (at least) while putting a greater emphasis on the transfer portal. His unique approach to roster management saw him turn over more than 50 players from the old regime during the offseason.
Coach Prime sees more value in a player with experience on the collegiate level than he does an unproven high schooler. He is not alone in that thinking, and that trend will only continue to increase across the sport.
Butler will likely be one of about 6/7 high school players to earn a scholarship this offseason, if that. The staff is very excited what the young two-way player can bring to the table.
Deion Sanders’ top recruit is done with high school football before the season is over.
Butler accumulated 525 all-purpose yards and scored seven touchdowns as a freshman at Calabasas High School. Powerhouse programs like St. John Bosco and Sierra Canyon tried to recruit him away, but he chose to stick around.
2022, his junior year, was a breakout season for Butler. He recorded caught 38 passes for 830 yards and 13 touchdowns while also playing lock-down defense at cornerback.
Butler was off to an even better start this season, tallying 586 yards and five touchdowns on 28 catches through four games. That will be his final stat line for the year.
His season is over. Not due to injury.
Butler announced last week that he will forgo the final five games of his senior season at Calabasas. The move greatly dims his team’s playoff hopes, but it is entirely focused around his individual future.
In lieu of football practice, Butler is enrolling in online classes so that he can graduate high school early.
According to his father, the future Buffalo is trying to get ahead start on the “rigor of college study, the discipline required to be a student-athlete and the opportunity to get the full-blown immersion in the playbook.” Butler is hungry to “take someone’s spot by January.”
Aaron Butler has arms the size of trees.
Although Butler lists himself at 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, he might be slightly shorter and slightly heavier. And it’s all muscle.
Butler posted a photo of his arms back in July and looked like a full-grown man. If you didn’t know that he is a senior in high school, you might mistake him for D.K. Metcalf or Myles Garrett.
Now that Butler is finished with football for the time being, all of his focus will be on academics and the weight room. He is going to arrive in Boulder a step ahead of his fellow classmates, with a huge jump start on the college weight and strength training program.
Aaron Butler. Remember the name!