Stanford lands Butler

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - Saturday is Treyjohn Butler's birthday. He could get some presents. The four-star cornerback gave Stanford coach David Shaw an early gift Friday.

Butler, the top-rated cornerback in the Inland Empire, picked Stanford over California, Arizona State and Northwestern during a ceremony at Etiwanda High. The Southern California native is another major pickup for the Cardinal, which continues to roll early in the Pac-12.

"The amount of work I put in through my years of high school, that school was the one," Butler said. "Not only the coaching staff but the school in general. I really fit there.

"I had a chance to talk to a lot of players already there and they were great guys. This process has been crazy but Stanford made it the easiest. I have a lot of love for all the coaches who believed in me and gave me the offer, so much appreciated, all the schools were great schools and it was a hard decision but my heart was with Stanford."

Usually, Stanford operates methodically through the recruiting calendar and loads up closer to National Signing Day. This cycle the Cardinal have aggressively pursued top targets earlier and had tremendous success.

Butler, rated No. 16 at cornerback and No. 184 in the 2016 class by Rivals.com, becomes the ninth four-star prospect so far in Stanford's class that also boasts quarterback K.J. Costello, outside linebacker Curtis Robinson and tight end Kaden Smith, all high four-stars.

With Butler's pledge, Stanford has more four-star commitments than any other Pac-12 school.

"When I went up on the Junior Day I got a chance to meet a lot of the guys," Butler said. "During the scrimmage we had a chance to talk about the school. When we left, Curtis Robinson did commit, I talk to Costello a lot, I talk to Beau (Bisharat) and I started feeling it.

"We want to do something great. We feel like we can shock the world and we're ready to put the work in."

Stanford always held a healthy lead through Butler's recruitment but it got especially interesting in recent weeks after the four-star visited Cal. The Etiwanda recruit raved about his Berkeley trip, how well he got along with the coaching staff and he said the visit was a "game-changer" when it came to his decision.

But the Cardinal had too much to offer - in the classroom and on the football field - and Butler decided it was definitely the right place.

Now he can celebrate his birthday weekend in peace, with his decision behind him and his senior season getting underway in a few weeks.

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