Nevada RB James Butler headed to Iowa as grad transfer

After a solid career at Nevada, running back James Butler is headed to Iowa.

In each of the last two seasons at Nevada, James Butler has topped 1,300 rushing yards with double-digit touchdowns on the ground. Over three seasons in Reno, he had 3,316 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. But a move toward the spread-based “Air Raid” offense is coming this year, with Matt Mumme (son of Hal) coming in as offensive coordinator under new head coach Jay Norvell.

Butler had apparently considered a transfer when Norvell was hired, but Mumme was optimistic about how the senior running back would fit into the new offense. Butler proved to be a capable pass catcher in 2016, with 37 receptions for 381 yards and three touchdowns, so that optimism was well-founded.

Butler is originally from Bloomingdale, Illinois, so a move closer to home would seem to be a priority if he did move on as a transfer this year. At this fairly late stage, Butler has done exactly that. On Tuesday, he took to Twitter to announce his transfer to the University of Iowa.

The Hawkeyes finished eighth in the Big Ten in rushing last season (171.8 yards per game), led by 1,081 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns from Akrum Wadley.

Butler has earned his degree from Nevada, so he’s immediately eligible as a grad transfer this year. C.J. Beathard is gone to the NFL and inexperience is taking over under center, so new Hawkeyes’ offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is sure to make the ground game an even greater priority this year.

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With one of the top running back duos in the conference (and possibly the country) in place, and all five offensive line starters returning, Iowa’s offense will likely still look as vanilla as it has throughout Kirk Ferentz’s tenure as head coach. But Butler does offer a level of versatility they haven’t typically had out of the backfield.