Georgia Tech's most penalized player of 2010: Mario Butler. Butler was the crusty veteran at cornerback for the Jackets in 2010. He saw action in 51 games for Tech and started in 39. Butler matched up one on one with Demaryius Thomas (a 2010 1st round Draft pick) every day for 3 years from 2007-2009. He has also matched up with a ton of talented ACC and SEC receivers in live fire including Hakeem Nicks, Jacoby Ford, A.J. Green, Mohamed Massaquoi, Brooks Foster, Leonard Hankerson, and Brandon Tate.
The first issue that should be addressed with any DB should be how good their overall unit was. From 2008-2010, GT was 5th, 5th, and 7th in conference passing defense. So we were average to good. There are thousands of factors that go into this but it's a start on breaking down a DB.The next issue is tackling. Mario made 3.2 tackles/game in 2008, 3.2 tackles/game in 2009, and 3.9 tackles per game in 2010. As he matured, he missed less tackles. And he actually made a good percentage of his 2010 stops in run support, which is a very good sign to NFL squads looking for tough CB's. Butler racked up over 10 tackles for loss since 2010 all against running backs trying to take the outside.
Butler's coverage skills may come into question when scouts break down his film. He only picked off 4 passes at Tech in four years. As I mentioned earlier, Butler found himself in a bind several times as well and drew 6 pass interference calls in 2010.
I think Butler will probably get drafted late in the 2011 NFL Draft or at least earn a free agent contract. He's a great run stopping defensive back and could definitely be contributor on special teams at the next level. Mario Butler participated in the East-West Shrine Game this past Saturday.