Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer 7y

Drew Butler preparing for a career in sports media after football

TEMPE, Ariz. – Late in every week during the college football season, Arizona Cardinals punter Drew Butler takes an hour out his day, puts down his playbook and takes a break from the NFL.

For that hour, University of Georgia football is Butler’s priority.

On either Thursdays or Fridays, and from anywhere from his home office to the Cardinals’ locker room, Butler hosts a Facebook Live show called “Dawg’s Dish with Drew Butler.” He breaks down the Bulldogs’ upcoming opponent -- sometimes with a co-host such as former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray or former Mississippi star Robert Nkemdiche -- and prognosticates, predicts and sometimes picks games against the spread. He also takes questions from fans. But he stays away from talking about the NFL.

“I’ll certainly try to get opinionated, just bring my viewpoints as a former Bulldog which I don’t think people have this early removed from the program, only being out for a couple years now,” Butler said. “It’s been fun, and the feedback’s been good, too.”

He averages about 1,000 viewers per week, and the most he’s had tune in is about 4,000. But the numbers don’t matter to him right now. It’s about getting the reps.

“It’s just a resume builder,” he said.

His show is the latest way the 27-year-old Butler, who appears as natural in front of cameras or conducting interviews in the locker room as he does punting in the shadows of the goal posts, has started preparing for a life in sports media after his football days are over.

Butler, whose father, Kevin, was an NFL kicker for 12 seasons, grew up a sports kid.

He was enamored with stats and analysis. He watched SportsCenter on a regular basis. He knew all the stats of all his favorite players and teams, especially the Georgia Bulldogs and Chicago Bears -- who his father also played for.

At Georgia, Butler graduated from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications with a degree in telecommunications because he wasn’t allowed to major in broadcast journalism, which would’ve required working for the student TV station for a semester, but being a football player didn’t allow that. While the on-air side was one reason Butler was attracted to sports journalism, the business side of TV and radio also interested him.

The opportunity to still be involved with football and other sports after his career is over was another reason Butler was drawn to journalism. He enjoys creating dialogues with fans about whatever the topic du jour is. Living in Arizona has also exposed Butler to how sports are covered out West and opened a new market of opportunity and contacts. He picked high school playoff games for the sportscast of a local TV station this year.

He got his first chance to test his mettle in the sports media world a few years after graduating in 2012 when Radi Nabulsi, the publisher of UGASports.com, the Rivals site dedicated to Georgia athletics, was looking for a former University of Georgia football player to join his website as a writer and analyst.

Nabulsi asked former Bulldogs who they’d recommend him hiring.

Butler’s name came up often.

It made sense to Nabulsi. While covering Butler at Georgia, Nabulsi quickly thought Butler was one of the smartest players in the locker room. Interacting with him often, Nabulsi saw how Butler understood the role of the media, in addition to having an intimate knowledge base of football.

Butler was perfect, Nabulsi thought. And it didn’t take much for Nabulsi to convince Butler to join his site in 2014.

He first had Butler write weekly game previews and reviews. Butler would breakdown Georgia’s offense and defense against each opponent, pinpoint important keys for the Bulldogs and sometimes give anecdotes from the players’ perspective, then recap the games. After a few weeks of writing, Nabulsi incorporated Butler into his radio show, “Dawg Dial.”

Soon after Butler was hosting it. The hour-long show was syndicated on about 25 to 30 stations throughout Georgia.

“He took to it so effortlessly,” Nabulsi said.

During his stint as host, Butler showed his range. He’d also discuss Georgia basketball and touch on football recruiting, which is as hot of a topic in the SEC as the actual season.

One of Nabulsi’s takeaways of Butler as a journalist was how well Butler understood his audience.

“He’s able to not just be a homer,” Nabulsi said. “He knows what they like. He doesn’t cater to them. He understands what they’re looking for. They don’t need to hear the same thing from 10 different people. The want to know Xs and Os. They want to know something to watch for, something to pay attention to, a key to the game.

“Everyone will say, ‘You have to watch this’ or ‘You have to stop this.’ He takes it a step forward with insight you wouldn’t have thought of.”

Butler hopes his experience will pay off whenever football is over.

He’s prepared to start his sports media journey in some far-flung city but has hopes for lights a bit brighter, such as the SEC Network.

“I mean, the SEC Network would be really cool,” Butler said. “Obviously, I think you see the most recently former athletes from SEC schools get jobs at the SEC Network. I think I’d do a really good job there.

“But radio is probably what I’m most comfortable with doing. A TV host job would be cool, too. I feel comfortable in front of the camera and I think I have enough knowledge to where I can help somewhere.”

^ Back to Top ^