NFL player visits Elon Elementary

An assistant principal at Amherst County High School, formerly a football coach at E.C. Glass, asked one of his former players to come visit, talk with students and to read to younger students.

That he dwarfed them was not surprising –– Brad Butler, at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds, is an offensive lineman for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, and solid, dedicated work got him where he is, said his former coach, Tim Hoden.

Hoden, who coached at E.C. Glass for six years, fondly recalls Butler but also values his example for students.

“Brad’s probably one of the hardest working kids I ever coached,” Hoden said. “Everything he got he got from his own hard work.”

Butler enjoys interacting with students and has worked with Buffalo Public Schools, helped nonprofit agencies there and has visited troops overseas, according to Hoden and UVa.

“He’s a good, level-headed man,” which has helped Butler succeed in the NFL. “The NFL’s not the flash and the big celebrity everyone thinks it is,” Hoden said.

Butler visited Elon Elementary School to read to students, and he also visits the high school, Hoden said.

“He’s agreed, even though he didn’t go to school there,” Hoden said.

After earning his degree at the University of Virginia, Butler, now 26, became the first offensive player drafted by the Bills in 2006, as the10th selection in the fifth round (143rd overall), according to the Bills’ Web site, www.buffalobills.com.

He played in his first NFL game on Nov. 5, 2006, against the Green Bay Packers, according to the team.

Butler started in 29 of the 32 games over two seasons, including all 16 games in 2007, a year in which the Bills offensive line allowed only 26 sacks, according to the Web site.

He started in two games last season before a knee injury.

“This season was significant,” because Butler underwent surgery for a knee injury and has worked back to regain on-field form. He has been working out at Liberty University with his former coach, Danny Rocco, who now coaches the Liberty Flames.

Butler completed the Executive Education Programs at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School. He acquired a passion for politics through internships at the Center for Politics as a student, and continued his involvement working with Jack Kemp at Kemp Partners where he attended Congressional hearings and conducted research. Butler’s belief in the importance of civic engagement has lead him to visit soldiers in the Persian Gulf, partner with the Buffalo Public Schools and assist various other nonprofit agencies throughout the Buffalo area.