Kelan Butler was on campus for a Tennessee football junior day on March 4, and the four-star EDGE was back on campus for the Vols’ first scrimmage of spring on Saturday.
The Jefferson (Ga.) High School prospect was impressed with Tennessee defense at the scrimmage and said they “won the day.”
“The hype around the defense, they’re really loud and vocal,” Butler, a class of 2025 prospect told Off The Hook. “They were really hype. Coach BJ (Brian Jean-Mary) would get on them too. The little mess ups, he would see everything on the field and coach those guys up.”
Butler, ranked as the No. 97 prospect in his class, also got to sit in on Tennessee’s meetings ahead of the scrimmage. He also got to interact with some of the current players.
“All the guys seemed real cool with each other,” Butler said. “They were kind of cracking jokes here and there but they were also serious at the same time. You could tell, there’s a lot of plays in college, I didn’t realize really until I was in that room. They have a lot to memorize and coach BJ has books so when they mess up, even on practice film, they have to write corrections. He stays on top of them and they get it done.
“I feel like that’s the best way to always to good is to fix your stuff. He’s on top of them.”
Butler got to watch Tim Banks call the defense during the scrimmage on Saturday. Banks’ aggressive style impressed the 6-foot-3, 223-pound edge rusher. The edge rusher could see himself in Tennessee’s defense.
“I like they style,” Butler said. “I was talking to coach BJ about the style, they’re really fast as well because the offense is fast so they practice fast defenese. They all have to be on the same page and communicate on the field a lot. On gameday, it’s so packed out there’s no way they will be able to hear.”
Jean-Mary said Butler could play at all three-levels for the Vols, it just depends on how his body pans out. Ranked the No. 7 EDGE in the 2025 class, Butler clocked in sub-12 second times in the 100-meter dash this past season.
“We’ll kind of see how much I grow and I might just be an EDGE,” Butler said. “Right now, (Jean-Mary) said it just depends on when you get here. He said Mike, WIll and LEO.
“I just like football in general. I’m good with anything, anything with that linebacker. Outside, inside, I can get used to it all. It’s all great.”
After being on campus two times in a span of less than a month, Tennessee football has made a good impression on Butler.
“There’s a good amount of schools I’m trying to hit up and visit,” Butler said. “They’re definitely up there though. I’d love to get back soon and stay in contact with (Tennessee).”
Butler has locked in visits with Michigan and Michigan State currently. He is also planning trips to Arkansas and Texas A&M.
To cap of his visit to Knoxville, Butler called the chance to be inside of Neyland Stadium and attend the scrimmage his favorite part. At one point, he had the chance to just take it all in.
“We were just sitting in the stadium looking around. We were just sitting on the edge of it and it was completely empty and we were just chilling and talking. It feels great, I can’t wait to get back up there for a game.”
