Butler winding down his recruitment

With four scholarships on the table Summit, Miss., defensive end Vernon Butler is contemplating putting an end to his recruitment before the summer is out.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder has landed offers from Louisiana-Lafayette, Memphis, Mississippi State and Ole Miss over the past few months and could have his college destination chosen before his senior season begins at North Pike High School.

"I've been thinking about doing it this summer," Butler said.

Butler stated that one school in particular has stood out from the others.

"It's mainly Mississippi State," Butler said. "I like the coaches. Coach (Chris) Wilson is a good coach. I got to work with him at camp. We were working on my moves like the rip and the liz."

Butler is weighing out several factors that will help him make his decision.

"I'm going to look at the coaches mainly," Butler said. "Then if it's a good environment and how the people are around there and then the football program."

Butler is not the only North Pike defensive end that is being recruited. His teammate A.J. Jefferson is also a prized prospect holding scholarships to Louisiana-Lafayette, Memphis, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss.

The two Jaguars have not ruled out the possibility of playing together at the next level.

"We've been talking about going to the same school," Butler said. "I think that would be good. We're pretty close. We work out together even when we don't have to at the school. It will be just me and him going up to the school to workout ourselves."

This summer has been a busy one for Butler as he prepares for his senior season. He still has a few more camp stops to make this month before he begins two-a-days.

"I've been working hard in the weight room and going to camps," Butler said. "I've got some camps coming up this month at LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. The only camps I've been to so far is UL (Lafayette) and Mississippi State."

As a junior Butler recorded 98 tackles (42 solo, 56 assists), four sacks and a fumble recovery helping lead North Pike to a 14-2 record and into the Class 4A State Championship game. In their 31-6 state title loss to Lafayette County Butler notched 15 tackles (eight solo, seven assists).

Butler is expecting the Jaguars to again be solid defensively but will have to do some rebuilding on the offensive side of the ball. In fact, Butler will help by playing both ways lining up at tight end some this season.

"We've got the whole defense coming back except for a linebacker," Butler said. "So the defense should be pretty good this year. We lost all of our offense. They've got me over at tight end now. We went to camp the other day to a 7-on-7 tournament at Co-Lin (Copiah-Lincoln Community College) and lost in the championship by two touchdowns."