NEVADA
SENIOR (2017) - Earned preseason All-Mountain West first team honors from Athlon Sports ... Looks to continue his climb up the all-time rushing list at Nevada, enters the year eighth ... Expected to be one of the premier running backs in the conference after back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons ... Will be more involved in the passing game under the Air Raid offense.
JUNIOR (2016) – Earned an All-Mountain West honorable mention for the second straight season and was named third team All-MW by Phil Steele … Named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week after he ran for a career-high 196 yards on 32 carries and posted four total touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) in the Pack’s 45-10 season finale win at UNLV (11/26) … Ran the ball 260 times for 1,336 yards, which ranked fourth in the Mountain West, is 27th nationally and is the 12th-most in Nevada single season history … Additionally his 111.3 rushing yards per game ranked fifth in the conference and was 21st in the nation … Registered 15 total touchdowns on the year (12 rushing, three receiving) which ranked sixth in the league and 34th nationally … Averaged 143.08 all-purpose yards per game as well, 18th in the nation and third in the conference … Ran for over 1,000 yards for a second straight season and eclipsed the 3,000 rushing yard plateau for his career … Moved up in the Nevada record books to eighth all-time in career rushing yards (3,313) … His 27 career rushing touchdowns moved him into 10th all-time at Nevada as well … Had a breakout year receiving the ball as he set career highs with 37 receptions for 381 yards and three touchdowns … His season-long reception of 46 yards at San Jose State (10/15) helped him record a career-high 92 yards receiving in a single game … Collected 1,717 all-purpose yards as a junior … Posted six 100-yard rushing performances on the year … Opened the season with a 123-yard game and two touchdowns in the win over Cal Poly (9/2) … His season-long run of 55 yards came in the conference opener at Hawai’i (10/1) where he finished with 168 yards on the ground on 21 attempts … Received the Pack’s Golden Helmet Award as the team’s MVP and was named Nevada’s outstanding offensive player … Named Nevada’s offensive player of the week following the Buffalo, Fresno State, Utah State and UNLV games … Played and started in all 12 games of the season … Began the year on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, earned preseason honors from Lindy’s Sports and Athlon Sports and was a candidate for the Doak Walker Award … Letter winner.
SOPHOMORE (2015) - Earned All-Mountain West honorable mention honors … Played in all 13 games with one start … Rushed 207 times for 1,342 yards and 10 touchdowns … His 1,342 yards on the ground ranks 11th all-time in a single season in program history … Averaged 6.4 yards per carry and 103.2 yards per game … Ranked second in the MW with eight 100-yard rushing performances … Nevada went 7-1 when he eclipsed 100 yards … Ranked fifth in the MW and 23rd in the nation in rushing … Became the 18th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a single season … Became the first sophomore to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a single season at Nevada since Vai Taua in 2008 … Was one of 22 underclassmen (freshmen or sophomore) in FBS to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing in the regular season … Along with Don Jackson, became just the third running back duo to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing in the same season in program history … Eclipsed 100-yards rushing against Texas A&M (107), Buffalo (177), New Mexico (145), Hawai’i (134), Fresno State (122), San Jose State (119), Utah State (139) and Colorado State (189) … Led the MW in yards per carry (6.3) among players with at least 50 carries on the season … Set a career-high with 189 rushing yard in Nevada's bowl victory over Colorado State … Earned his first career MW Player of the Week honor after rushing 18 times for 122 yards and one touchdown in Nevada’s win at Fresno State … Tallied a career-high 177 rushing yards in Nevada’s win at Buffalo with a 91-yard rush … Matched a season-high with two rushing touchdowns against Hawai’i and Utah State … Was named Nevada’s offensive player of the week after wins against Buffalo and Hawai’i … Also caught seven passes for 44 yards … Letter winner … 2015 Academic All-Mountain West.
FRESHMAN (2014) - One of three true freshman on the team to play in all 13 games in 2014 … Ranked third on the team in rushing yards (635) … Posted 140 carries, 635 yards and five touchdowns … Averaged 4.5 yards per carry … Ranked third in the Mountain West in rushing by a freshman and 16th overall … Posted two 100-yard rushing efforts with 103 yards and a score against San Diego State and a season-high 116 yards in Nevada’s rivalry win over UNLV … Scored touchdowns in his first two collegiate games with one score against Southern Utah and another vs. Washington State … Recorded his first career multi-touchdown game with two rushing TDs in the Pack’s victory at BYU … Earned a career-high 21 carries in victory at Hawai’i … Also caught five passes for 13 yards on the season … Helped Nevada’s offense average over 200 yards on the ground per game and rank fifth in the MW in rushing offense … 2014 Academic All-Mountain West.
HIGH SCHOOL - From Saint Francis High School in Wheaton, Ill. ... Was a first-team all-state selection in 2013 after rushing for 1,185 yards and 19 touchdowns on 138 carries ...Also earned all-area and all-conference honors in addition to being named the conference MVP ... Also attended Bartlett (Ill.) High School, where he rushed for 933 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2011 ... Earned a total of three letters in football and also lettered in lacrosse and track and field.
PERSONAL - Born James Jeremy Butler on Feb. 19, 1995 ... Son of Cornelia William and James Butler ...Is a communications major ... Along with two friends, start a summer sports camp, "JRJ Sports Camp" to help underprivileged children ... Also recruited by Purdue, Temple, Indiana and Eastern Illinois.
