Kaimon Rucker reveals origin of 'The Butcher' nickname

North Carolina pass-rusher Kaimon Rucker has certainly made a name for himself this season, though perhaps it’s his nickname that will draw even more attention, particularly from opposing offenses.

Deemed ‘The Butcher’ by his position coach, Rucker has lived up to the billing.

“That came from coach Tim Cross,” Rucker explained on the Andy Staples On3 show on Tuesday night. “It was my very first start freshman year against Boston College and I made a TFL (tackle for loss) and the announcers at the time, they saw it and they was just like coach Cross said I was aggressive as a rolling ball of butcher knives.”

It’s a somewhat colloquial expression, though the moniker usually goes to a very powerful running back who is used to bulldozing through piles and shaking off defenders left and right.

Rucker, on the other hand, spends his time chasing down opposing quarterbacks.

But once the nickname officially hit the airwaves, there was a chance to capitalize on an opportunity. Rucker and his family didn’t miss it.

“That was something they really enjoyed saying, and my dad caught onto it,” Kaimon Rucker explained. “NIL was starting to come to fruition at this time, so he was like, ‘Hey man, we might need to do something with this.’ So we shortened it down to ‘The Butcher’ or aka ‘Butcher,’ so that’s how it was made.”

All The Butcher has done is pile up the production for the Tar Heels, who are putting together what could prove to be a very special season, off to a 5-0 start.

Rucker has logged 23 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, 4.0 sacks and five quarterback hurries this season.

Nicknames aside, he assures everyone he’s actually pretty nice in person. Put him on the football field, though, and The Butcher takes over. He’s out to slice and dice offensive lines and plunge one into the heart of opposing quarterbacks.

“The craziest thing is my football personality and my off-the-field personality is no different, to be honest,” Kaimon Rucker said. “So the irony of being called the Butcher and of course my style of play is very aggressive, very physical. But me personally I’m not that type of guy at all. So it’s kind of ironic how I’m getting this name right now.”