GETTING A LEG UP
Training with ‘Megatron,’ Boldin prepared Cards rookie for camp
By the time the Cardinals’ veterans hit the field for the start of training camp on Thursday at State Farm Stadium, wide receiver Hakeem Butler will already have had a full week of workouts under his belt with the rest of the team’s rookies in Tempe.
But Butler got the jump on all of them, though, and it came months ago during an especially fortunate series of training days well before the NFL scouting combine, pro days and the NFL draft.
He never saw it coming but is he ever glad it did.
Following his senior season at Iowa State, Butler began working out at a Florida facility where former Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin also trains. They struck up a friendship and then, through the help of longtime sports agent Bus Cook, another former NFL star receiver entered the mix.
Calvin Johnson.
Like another famous talent for the Detroit Lions — running back Barry Sanders — Johnson retired from the NFL rather prematurely with plenty of skill and smarts still on the table. They left for different reasons and in different eras, but both have wanted to give back and help others in their pursuit of NFL stardom.
“Without question. He taught me how to be a big body like he was.”
Hakeem Butler Cardinals rookie receiver, on learning from six-time Pro Bowl receiver Calvin Johnson
Getting the chance to train alongside Boldin was big enough, but when Butler learned he would also be getting the chance to learn from the pass catcher affectionately known as “Megatron,” he couldn’t believe his good luck.
“Surreal,” Butler said of the experience. “I learned so much, man. He’s a great mentor. I was a little nervous at first, but it was exciting. I mean, how can you not be excited that one of your idols growing up is now like a big part of you, helping you come up in the game?”
Johnson, 33, has been out of the league for four years now. He’s been holding regular workout camps for promising young wide receivers like Butler and others ever since he walked away from the NFL. A first-round pick out of Georgia in 2007, he retired with 731 career receptions for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns.
At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Butler has a similar frame and build as Johnson, the former six-time Pro Bowl performer.
Because Johnson used his size so effectively during his eight seasons as a pro, that naturally was one of the main points of emphasis during his private workouts with Butler.
“Without question. He taught me how to be a big body like he was,” Butler said, smiling.
Back in March, the NFL released a short video of the two men going through an on-field workout together with Johnson showing Butler certain techniques on how to beat man coverage by a cornerback.
“The first thing I do with these kids every time is look at their stance and start,” Johnson tells Butler. “It’s imperative. Let me see what you’re working with.”
The two line up against each other and Butler is told to run a simple 9 route, where a receiver runs straight ahead as fast as he can and as deep as he can to gain separation from a defender. Butler springs forward and Johnson immediately slows him down with two hands to the upper body.
“You gave me your chest! You gave me your chest, man!” Johnson says in a scolding tone. “C’mon. Hands got to be up! … I always tell ‘em, ‘Hands up ready to fight’ because the first thing they’re going to do is go for the chest. Once you give up your chest, you give them a way to push back and a chance to regather themselves.”
The two keep going through the same drill with Johnson offering pointers before, during and after every rep. Butler learns things he’s never heard before, especially about how to use his hands and legs as legal weapons.
Johnson reminds him that the man across from you is “trying to take your head off,” so “you have to take their head off first,” Butler said.
“He helped me a lot,” Butler said. “We’ll find out how much. He could tell me all the secrets of the trade, but unless I use them, it doesn’t really matter so it’s all on me now. But yeah, he taught me a lot of tricks, definitely.”
From now on, Butler will be getting plenty of friendly tips from the Cardinals’ all-time leading wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, who ranks second in NFL history in receiving yards and third in career receptions. Larry Legend isn’t a bad guy to learn from at all.
“Oh man, he’s already taken the whole group and has kind of just been the leader there,” Butler said. “The dude is a pro’s pro and he does everything right. He’s vocal and he leads with his play and commitment. That’s all you can ask for.”
Butler caught 60 passes last season for 1,318 yards, which tied for the eighthmost in the FBS in 2018. He’ll be sharing reps in camp with two other fellow rookies in Andy Isabella, who led all FBS pass catchers with 1,698 yards receiving and KeeSean Johnson, who finished sixth with 1,340 yards.
“It’s incredibly fun that we’re all starting out together here,” Butler said. “I feel like we’re just beginning our brotherhood and we’re just coming into our own . ... ”