Football

Notre Dame cornerback Devin Butler to transfer to Syracuse

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Dino Babers picked up a graduate transfer cornerback from Notre Dame.

Syracuse picked up another fifth-year, graduate transfer under head coach Dino Babers on Thursday. Notre Dame cornerback Devin Butler committed to Syracuse to use his final year of eligibility. Irish247 first reported the news.

Butler was expected to start for the Irish in 2016, but he fractured his foot just before Notre Dame’s bowl game the season prior and then again later in the offseason. In August, UND suspended Butler indefinitely after he was arrested Aug. 20 near a bar in South Bend, Indiana. Butler pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor of resisting law enforcement, per the Chicago Tribune. Another charge for battery against a public safety official was dropped.

“With my situation, I really wanted to go to a program where the coaches would really support me,” Butler told 247Sports.com. “The Notre Dame coaches definitely supported me, but I just wanted a place were I can re-write my narrative. That’s Syracuse. I wanted to put the bad light away and off my name. I wanted a chance to show people I am the man that everyone knows me to be and the man I’ve always been.

The cornerback arrived at Notre Dame as a four-star recruit. Out of high school, Baylor, Houston, Nebraska, Penn State, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Wisconsin all offered him. He measures out at 6 feet, 1 inch and 200 pounds. Butler likely will replace former Syracuse cornerback Corey Winfield, who announced his transfer from SU. Winfield has yet to announce where he’s transferring to. The Orange’s pass defense ranked 117th in the country last season, giving up 276.1 yards per game.

Early in the 2016 season, Syracuse lost safety Antwan Cordy and cornerback Juwan Dowels to injury. The Orange will get both players and nearly all of its starting secondary back for next season.



Babers brought on two fifth-year transfers in 2016 to fill holes, including Amba Etta-Tawo and De’Jon Wilson. Etta-Tawo had the best season ever for a Syracuse wide receiver, tallying 94 catches for 1,482 yards and 14 touchdowns, while Wilson added 2.5 sacks as a key rotational player for the Orange.

Track the rest of the incoming class here.





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