Butler fares well in Indy

There was no official posting anywhere inside Lucas Oil Stadium for Deon Butler to check out.
There was no official word from anyone after Butler crossed the finish line during his 40-yard dash last Sunday morning at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
The only way the Hylton High School graduate knew he’d run an eyebrow-raising time was an expression he spotted on the face of Shawn Jefferson, the Detroit Lions’ wide receivers coach, who was standing at the finish line with his stop watch.
Butler glanced at Jefferson, who worked with Butler at the East-West Shrine Game last month in Houston. Jefferson glanced back at Butler, then down at his watch and then back at Butler.
Butler got the message.
“I knew I had run a good time,” Butler said.
Butler did not know he had run a 4.38 until his agent told him as Butler was boarding a plane that evening to head home.
Butler’s electronic time was the fourth fastest among wide receivers at the combine and a time that was higher than for more notable names like Florida’s Percy Harvin, a projected first-round pick who ran a 4.41.
The only three to top Butler were Maryland’s Darrius Heyward-Bey (4.30), a projected first-rounder, Mississippi’s Mike Wallace (4.33) and Abilene Christian’s Johnny Knox (4.34).
The Lions, Butler said, timed him at 4.25 on a hand stopwatch.
“The good thing is that the NFL scouts use their own hand times. So 4.2 is where most teams likely had me at,” Butler said.
The result helped Butler’s standing leading up to the NFL Draft April 25-26.
“It definitely jumped me up on draft boards,” Butler said.
Butler also caught NFL teams’ attention for the way he ran routes as well as the way he performed during other drills.
In addition, Butler’s combine experience got off to a good start when he weighed in at 182 pounds, a jump of 14 pounds.
The biggest concern NFL teams have had about the 5-foot-10 Butler is his slight build and whether it can handle the demands of playing at that level.
Coming into the combine, Butler was viewed as a late-round pick.
But at least one draft Web site, TFYDraft.com, said in a story on SI.com that Butler’s combine performance raised “his draft stock almost two rounds.”
Tony Pauline, who wrote the story for SI.com, said Butler was one of the “risers” at the combine.
“Butler scorched the turf, running his 40’s under 4.3 seconds on several stopwatches. He practiced at that speed during drills, displaying outstanding quickness and route-running skills,” Pauline wrote. “Butler also caught the ball very well.”
Butler attributed his performance to his pre-draft preparation at the training facility he worked out at in New Jersey as well as his time with former New York Giant receiver Ricky Proehl in North Carolina.
Butler’s strategy for the 40 was to stay low coming off the starting line instead of popping straight up.
“I think things went as planned,” Butler said.
Next up for Butler will be Penn State’s Pro Day at State College on March 18th.
With his 40 time in place, the Nittany Lions’ all-time career receptions leader said he will just concentrate on working on his route running that day.