Freshman WR healthy again, pushes for job
not just their mental approach, but even just their reactions to certain situations every practice and every game.
Sure, Butler-Jenkins — DBJ, anyone? — believes he could have helped Pitt’s offense a season ago, whether in a significant role or just by adding depth to the group. After all, he was one of the early surprises among freshmen, earning rave reviews from teammates during 2017 summer workouts and in the first couple days of preseason practices.
But coach Pat Narduzzi still remembers that camp wasn’t even a week old, Butler-Jenkins was right around the 15-yard line going upfield, and he went down. The knee brace and crutches came next, but behind the scenes, Butler-Jenkins was leaning on something else entirely.
“That’s the biggest thing we try to instill in him: You just have to have faith in the Lord, have faith in yourself, and don’t worry because everything will work itself out,” said his mother, Vanekia Jenkins. “He was a little discouraged at times, but I told him it’s a process you have to go through, and not everything’s gonna be easy.”
Butler-Jenkins didn’t sustain a major injury or surgery, but his right knee — opposite the ACL he tore playing football in ninth grade — was suffering from wear and tear and had to be drained to get it ready for this season, according to his mother. To say Butler-Jenkins has an especially strong bond with his mom and her mom, Willie Mae Jenkins, might be an understatement.
Known as just Dontavius Butler during his days at powerhouse American Heritage High School, he made the decision to hyphenate his last name when he arrived at Pitt.
“He didn’t tell me that’s what he wanted to do, so it was a bit of a surprise. He’s full of surprises, I can say that,” Vanekia Jenkins said with a laugh. “That’s just something he did on his own. His dad was in and out of prison a lot, he wasn’t in his life, so since he started football from 9 years old, it’s just been me and his grandma there to support him. So, I guess he felt like he’s gonna be on TV, doing big things now, so he wanted to try to at least represent us, as well.”
It seems highly likely Butler-Jenkins will be in position to do that this season. He’s been working with the first set of receivers for the past week, and Pitt players and coaches all agree he’s back to the level he was playing at before his injury, if not better.
While not the biggest target at 6 feet, 210 pounds, not the fastest and not a guy who put up huge numbers for a run-heavy team at the prep level — 23 catches for 278 yards and four scores as a senior — Butler-Jenkins still finds a way to make an impression in Pitt’s pass-catching corps.
“Coming from Heritage, I know you have to block,” he said. “I just wanna be a great teammate regardless, but I know that blocking helps a lot. … I mean, we ran the ball alot. We ran it a ton.”
Of course, that’s what Pitt would love to do, too, so maybe it’s no secret why the coaches like him now, and saw something in him back then, even if his high school statistics don’t jump off the page.
“They don’t,” the soft-spokenButler-Jenkins admitted with a smile, adding that it was how he performed in other settings that stood out. “My practices, you’d probably be like, ‘Oh, this kid’s amazing!’ But we weren’t leaning toward our passing game. It was more like we’re gonna pound the ball, pound the ball, pound the ball, and it was working. I was in it to win a state championship.”
And he did. Now it’s time to bring that mentality to the Panthers, who are in need of a receiver — or several — to provide an outside complement to Rafael Araujo-Lopes and step up for quarterback Kenny Pickett. Can it be the bearded one of the group, the oldest of Vanekia Jenkins’ five children, the one who by his own evaluation is a jack of all trades?
“I don’t have that one route that you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s gonna beat you on this.’ It’s like I can beat you on any route. And I think I bring that attitude, that aggressiveness to the receiving corps,” Butler-Jenkins said, then grinned. “I have really strong hands, as well, so that would be my ‘thing.’ “
That, and making his family proud.
“He’s the first boy, on my side and his dad’s side, so he has a lot of people looking up to him,” his mother said. “He’sset the bar really high.”