Randy Butler (1999) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Randy Butler

Induction:
1999

Offensive linemen are a special breed. It takes a special love of the game to be hit, beaten and pounded on like they are. And most of all it takes a lot of heart and an intense love of the game.
Randy Butler was that type of player. As an offensive tackle for the Golden Eagles from 1976 to 1978, he emerged as truly one of the best to ever play the position in the history of Southern Miss.
Randy tells me he grew up loving the Alabama and when he suffered a knee injury during his senior season at Geneva County High in Hartford, Alabama, he had all but decided to walk-on with the Crimson Tide.
But the Golden Eagles came calling and during his official visit to the campus in late February of 1975, he signed to play here at Southern Miss.
   Randy came to Southern Miss as a 215-pound offensive tackle, but with a work ethic and dedication that still drive him as a coach today, he had soon bulked up to 245-pounds, and was ready to make a contribution.
   After sitting out the 1975 season, he began to see some action as a backup offensive tackle and on the special teams in 1976, but it was during the spring drills of 1977 that he really started to blossom into the star that he would soon become.
   He was ready to burst on the scene in 1977, but slated to start the season opener at Troy State, he injured the same knee he had hurt in high school, just two weeks before the season opener. It was then that Randy drew on something that his line coach Whitey Jordan had always told him, “the greatest players learn to play with pain”. Two weeks later Randy wasn’t in the starting lineup, but he played “in pain” and help led the Golden Eagles to the win. Randy started the remainder of the year and helped the team to a 6-6 record that included wins over Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Auburn. Butler was one of the key blockers that season for Ben (Go-Go) Garry, the school’s all-time leading rusher.
   Randy would enjoy his finest year as a Golden Eagle during his senior season of 1978. He would help lead the team to a 7-4 record that included another win over Mississippi State and the bowl bound Louisville Cardinals. Butler’s year would be climaxed at the end of the season when he would be named to the Associated Press All-South Independent team and Honorable mention All-America. He would also play in the Senior Bowl all-star and East-West Shrine all-star games.
   Following graduation he remained at Southern Miss for two seasons as a graduate assistant coach and continuing to work under Whitey Jordan and for Head Coach Bobby Collins.
    He then began a career as an assistant football coach at several places including the University of the South, Southern Methodist (where he was reunited with Jordan and Collins), Mississippi Delta Junior College, Tulane and Navarro Junior College. In 1993 he returned to Southern Miss where he has remained ever since.