Running back for Iowa. 2017: 396 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 4 catches.
5′9″ · 210 lb · Bloomingdale, IL
Recruiting
RB recruit
No. 1579 nationally · Signed with Nevada
Statement game32 car · 196 yds · 3 TDat UNLV (FBS) · W 45-10
Top 1% rushing yards game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
2017 running back for Iowa. 2017: 396 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 4 catches.
James Butler
Across four seasons and two programs, two head coaches: Brian Polian and Kirk Ferentz. The receipt: 74 rush yds against Ohio State — Week 10, 2017.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Iowa, 3,712 rushing yards — his college career is complete.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2014–2017
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Kirk Ferentz.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Concern: rush tds (10th percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 9 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 52.2 | 4.9 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 33.8 | 3.7 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 47.5 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 41.2 | 4.6 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2017
Splitting first-team reps — starts some weeks, rotates others.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 10 · 2017
W 55–24
vs Ohio State
74 rush yds (10 car)
Dominant 31-point win at home against Ohio State.
With N. Stanley — 226 yds · 5 TD · 0 INT · QBR 82.7 · -3 rush yds (2 car) · C. Rastetter — 18 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 100.0 · 7 rush yds (1 car)
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 9 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 24-3vs Wyoming | 10 | 47 | 4.7 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 2 | W 44-41@ Iowa State | 10 | 37 | 3.7 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 3 | W 31-14vs North Texas | 16 | 74 | 4.6 | 0 | 12 | Season-high 74 yds |
| Wk 9 | W 17-10vs Minnesota | 11 | 28 | 2.5 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 10 | W 55-24vs Ohio State | 10 | 74 | 7.4 | 0 | 53 | |
| Wk 11 | L 14-38@ Wisconsin | 8 | 30 | 3.8 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 12 | L 15-24vs Purdue | 7 | 38 | 5.4 | 0 | 25 | |
| Wk 13 | W 56-14@ Nebraska | 9 | 36 | 4.0 | 1 | 12 | |
| Bowl | W 27-20@ Boston College | 10 | 32 | 3.2 | 0 | 13 | |
| Total | 91 | 396 | 4.4 | 1 | 53 |