Former Michigan State cornerback Josh Butler signs with Cowboys
Former Michigan State cornerback Josh Butler returned to his home state on Tuesday, signing with the Dallas Cowboys. The Mesquite, Texas, native has an opportunity to earn a spot on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster.
Butler went undrafted after spending five seasons in East Lansing playing under head coach Mark Dantonio. Butler worked his way into the Spartans’ defensive backfield during his redshirt-freshman season.
The 6-foot, 183-pound cornerback steadily increased his role over the next three seasons, earning 16 starts and appearing in 43 career games. Butler finished his time at Michigan State with 54 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack and five passes defended.
The Spartans knocked off Wake Forest, 27-21, to win the 2019 Pinstripe Bowl in Butler’s final collegiate game.
After graduation, Butler continued to hone his craft on the field, but also grew an expansive social media following. Teaming up with his two Boxer-Pitbull mixes, Remi and Roxy, the trio boast a TikTok following of just over 3.2 million. The three have over 400,000 combined followers on Instagram and roughly 150,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Top 10
- 1
Nico Iamaleava update
Josh Heupel provides latest on Tennessee QB
- 2
Kirk calls out trash throwing
Herbstreit: "Enough is enough, clowns"
- 3
Ole Miss storms field
Celebration starts too early after beating Georgia
- 4
Herbstreit 'retired' from CFP show
College football analyst no longer on Tuesday rankings reveal
- 5
Tour of Oxford
Goalposts visit local landmarks after Georgia upset
Butler and his two dogs went viral after a clip of Butler’s senior day celebration at Spartan Stadium surfaced on social media. The Michigan State alum lost both of his parents prior to the annual celebration, so Butler was instead accompanied by Remi and Roxy during the festivities.
Butler earned a role on the Cowboys’ 90-man preseason camp roster following a standout season with the Michigan Panthers of the USFL. The defensive back tallied 29 tackles during his lone season with the Panthers.
Butler signed with Michigan State in 2015 and was a three-star prospect, according to the 2015 On3 Industry Rankings. Rivals.com rated Butler higher than any other recruiting site at the time, with a four-star rating.
Butler was one of three Texas natives signed by the Spartans in their 2015 class. Houston (Tex.) The Kinkaid School offensive tackle Tyler Higby and Houston (Tex.) Aldine Nimitz wide receiver Darrell Stewart, Jr. joined Butler in East Lansing as freshmen.
