VITALS:

Name:  Kylan Butler

Position: Running back

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 180

Speed: (If anyone can find his 40 time, post it as a comment)

High School: Concord, California (De La Salle)

Rivals: Three out of five stars

Recruited By: Jeff Hammerschmidt

STRENGTHS:

Kylan Butler comes to Arizona from the powerhouse football program of De La Salle located in Concord, California.  Kylan helped lead this school to the California Division I title game, where they lost to #2 nationally ranked Corona California.  He rushed for 1,286 yards and 15 TDs on 157 carries.   Butler is a deceptively strong back who plays a lot bigger than his 180 lb. frame.  If you've ever watched video of him, you can immediately tell that he has a low center of gravity and utilizes this while inside the tackles.  His shifty ability allows him to break through arm tackles and use his low center of gravity to get under tacklers to move forward for positive yards.  Butler has a tremendous ability to hit an open hole quickly.  Butler is a back who can come out of the backfield and catch a pass and make a big play out of nothing.  Butler also played receiver in high school, giving the Wildcats the option to line him up in the slot.  He can return kickoffs and punts as well.

WEAKNESSES:

Because of his lack of size, Butler tends to go down easily when wrapped up properly.  He does keep his feet moving, but without the weight of a bigger back, can be taken down solidly by linebackers, and even less appealing, can be taken down easily by defensive backs if they square him up right.  Kylan does not possess great speed either. From ESPN:

While he shows good openfield vision and elusiveness, he lacks great top-end speed and the initial burst or acceleration you look for in a smaller back.

The scouts also have concerns about his durability with his lack of speed and size:

VERDICT:

Kylan Butler is one of those guys who has very little chance to play on offense his freshman year.  His lack of size and speed limit his "long run" ability.  Although he still possesses the skills to be productive in the short to mid yardage scenarios, and his ability to catch passes out of the backfield, his immediate impact will be minimal in the offensive backfield.  Because of his ability to catch the football, and the fact that he played wide receiver in high school, the coaches have talked about lining up Butler in the slot position.  This would give him a good chance to see the field during his freshman season.  Another option for Butler is to contribute on special teams. He can return punts, kickoffs, and may also be used for coverage.  Butler was the special teams captain at De La Salle as a junior, so his ability to hit the field could be elevated based on his commitment to the special teams.