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Honors & Awards
» Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (2023, Media)
» Two-Time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll
» Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (2023, 2024)
» Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2023, 2024)
2024 (Junior)
Jimari Butler has played in nine games with nine starts this season and has recorded 19 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and one fumble recovery.
In the season opener against UTEP, he had one solo tackle. Against Colorado, Butler recorded two tackles with a two-yard sack, a fumble recovery and two quarterback hurries. He missed the Northern Iowa game but returned to make three tackles against Illinois. Butler totaled two solo tackles at Purdue, including a five-yard tackle for loss. He had a half tackle for loss against Rutgers. Butler was a disruptive force at Ohio State, finishing with five tackles and career highs of 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack. He had two tackles against UCLA. Butler had three tackles at USC, including a three-yard tackle for loss.
Butler was one of 10 Huskers to win a team vote to wear a single-digit number. He wore the No. 1 for the first five games of the season before electing to go back to his old number (No. 10) prior to the Rutgers game.
2023 (Sophomore)
Butler played in 11 games with six starts in 2023. He set career highs with 34 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, leading the Huskers in TFLs and sacks while earning honorable-mention All-Big Ten recognition. Butler was a key member of a Blackshirt defense that posted Nebraska’s best rushing defense (92.9 yards per game), total defense (303.5 yards per game) and scoring defense (18.3 points per game) since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011. NU ranked in the top 20 nationally in each of those three categories.
Butler missed the Minnesota game due to injury but played in the final 11 games. He recorded two tackles at Colorado, including a 10-yard sack that marked his first career sack. Butler had a sack for the second straight game with a nine-yard sack against Northern Illinois.
He started the first game of his career at Illinois and had three tackles, including a career-high 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Butler totaled a career-high six tackles in a start against Northwestern, including tying his career highs with 1.5 TFLs and 1.0 sack. He finished with three tackles against Purdue with 1.0 TFL and a half sack, his third consecutive game with a sack.
Butler totaled five tackles at Michigan State, one shy of his career high. He finished with three tackles against Maryland with 1.5 TFLs and a pass breakup. Butler started at Wisconsin and had three tackles, including a three-yard sack. Butler totaled four tackles against Iowa with a pass breakup.
2022 (Redshirt Freshman)
Butler played in all 12 games in 2022, seeing action on both defense and special teams. He totaled nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup.
Butler recorded his first career tackle with a 1-yard TFL against Oklahoma. He had another tackle and his first career pass breakup against Indiana. Butler had a single tackle against both Rutgers and Purdue before posting his first career multi-tackle game with two stops against No. 17 Illinois, including a half TFL. He recorded two tackles at No. 3 Michigan and ended his season with one tackle at Iowa.
2021 (Redshirt)
Butler played in two games in 2021, earning playing time on defense against Fordham and Buffalo.
2020 (Covid Season)
Butler did not play in a game in his first season at Nebraska.
Before Nebraska (Murphy HS)
Butler is one of two Alabama natives in Nebraska’s freshman class. Butler chose the Huskers after receiving several Power Five scholarship offers despite playing only one season of high school football.
Butler played only his senior season at Murphy High School, but he made a big impact in his lone year on the football team. In 10 regular-season games, Butler totaled 60 tackles with 22 TFLs, 14.5 sacks and 21 quarterback hurries. He added four more sacks in the state playoffs. Before his breakout senior season, Butler had not played football since seventh grade, instead focusing on basketball.
Butler was ranked among the top 35 weakside defensive ends by Rivals. He chose NU over Kansas, TCU and Tennessee, among others.
Personal
Jimari was born on June 23, 2002, and is the son of Santosha Huff. He is majoring in criminology and criminal justice, and is on track to graduate in December of 2024.