Week 6 Preview With Running Back James Butler
Unbeaten Roughnecks go on the road
Mar 12, 2020, 10:05 am
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James Butler
Under June Jones' run and shoot offense, running isn't a priority. However, we've seen it slowly start to pick up. Do you feel like you and the run game are finally hitting your stride?
"Yeah for sure. I feel like me and Andre have definitely taken advantage of our opportunities. Some teams are starting to drop into zone coverage so often they're giving us light boxes and me and Dre are just really allowed to take advantage of those boxes."
Defensively, the Guardians only allowed 1.8 yards per rush attempt after contact, the best in the XFL last week. Because of the good tackling on this team, do you feel like you can still exploit them using the run game?
"For sure. It's just going to come down to just block and tackle, basic football. It's going to come down to how well we execute on Saturday. "
What's your main focus going up against this Guardians defense? More pass blocking? More catching out of the backfield?
"Just executing what Coach June really has for us. I really like the game plan this week. Hopefully it involves more running back but you never really know. We always find out pretty much on game day what Coach June really gauges or just what the defense is giving us. We take our shots when we need to. I'm just excited for whatever my role may be and take advantage of every opportunity."
I've noticed you've gotten better at your vertical. You seem to be able to make it into the crowd with more ease. Any techniques we should know about?
"So I know a lot people think that I didn't have that high of a vertical my first attempt at the 'Houston Hop' but if you look closely at the film, I slipped going onto the concrete. Now I know when I get to the concrete I have to settle my feet."
Speaking of the crowd, Houston loves you. Does home field advantage play a role for you?
"Oh my gosh, so much. I don't think I can say this enough… I love playing in Houston. I really don't like playing anywhere else. It's been great. The fans are so into it and excited. I even had a fan with a 'jump here' and I saw a sign saying 'Butler was here' in the crowd. It's so cool to see how lively the fans are."
The Houston Roughnecks play the New York Guardians this Saturday at 1pm on ABC.
Things to know about the Guardians going into Week 6:
NY has won two games in a row.
The offense has turned the ball over only once in these two games.
Although this offense is still figuring themselves out, the QB switch to Luis Perez has proven to be a solid move. Perez had the highest QB rating in week 5.
The run game has also picked up. According to Andrew Brill from XFL.com, the Guardians offense gained more yards in the air and on the ground last week, totaling 373 yards, than they had in their four previous games.
Head Coach Kevin Gilbride has done a great job at managing the time clock and allowing his defense to have time off the field to rest.
The Roughnecks will need to start out strong and put up a steady lead early in the game. It's safe to say the concern for the defense this week isn't through the air, it's going to be more on their weak side, containing the run game.
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Texas' Quinn Ewers and Clemson's Cade Klubnik already have a championship history between them.
Both quarterbacks hail from Texas, and in January 2021 they were two of the highest-rated junior recruits in the nation when they met on the biggest stage of high school football in the the country: the Texas Class 6A state championship.
Klubnik got the best of Ewers that day, leading Austin Westlake to a 52-34 win over Southlake Carroll. They meet again Saturday when No. 12 seed Clemson (10-3) and No. 5 seed Texas (11-2) clash in the first round of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
For Klubnik, the first step toward leading Clemson back to a national title begins in his hometown just a few miles from where he grew up and played at a high school that produced NFL quarterbacks Drew Brees, Nick Foles and Sam Ehlinger.
And it promises to be an emotional return. When the Tigers and Longhorns were announced as first-round opponents, a camera quickly found Klubnik with a stunned look on his face as Tigers coach Dabo Swinney hugged him.
Then it was talk of the rematch with Ewers, with even bigger goals at stake this time.
“You know, Quinn and I go way back. We played each other in seventh or eighth grade and so on. My junior year in the state championship game was definitely a very high profile game," Klubnik said.
It was more than “high profile.”
Because of the two star quarterbacks and the pedigrees of their programs, their championship game against each other holds legendary status in a state that has produced too many great college players and games to count.
Klubnik and Westlake had won the state championship the previous year. The 2020 season was delayed by the pandemic, pushing the championship game into 2021. Ewers was the top-rated junior QB in the country, had already committed to Ohio State. Klubnik was ranked the No. 2 QB in Texas right behind him, but was still uncommitted.
Ewers passed for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Klubnik was just as good, with 18-of-20 passing for 220 yards and a touchdown, and another 97 yards rushing.
“That ain't fun when the fastest guy on the field is touching the ball 100% of the time,” Southlake Carroll coach Riley Dodge said that day.
Klubnik's Westlake teammates included Michael Taaffe, who is now a Texas safety, and Ethan Burke and Colton Vasek, who are now Longhorns defensive linemen.
Taaffe this week described Klubnik as his “best friend” that season at Westlake. He noted the school and social disruptions of the COVID season before the championship game.
“There was nothing we could do but throw the football around," Taaffe said. “We had nothing to do but become best friends. We were trying to win a state championship.”
Taaffe did his part in the state championship game, intercepting a pass from Ewers in the second half. He'd love to do the same to Klubnik. And Taaffe and won't pull any punches if he gets a chance for a sack or big hit on his old friend.
“My job is my to take my opponent's soul," Taaffe said. “It doesn't matter if it's my best friend or the guy I hate the most on this planet.
"Cade does everything it takes to try to win. He's going to do whatever it takes. I don't assume there's going to be a lot of sliding out of Cade come Saturday. I don't think there's going to be a lot of stepping out of bounds. Especially if he sees (me). He's definitely going to try to lower his shoulder on me and tell me about it, too," Taaffe said.
After that 2021 state title game, Klubnik and Westlake followed it up with another state championship the next season. Some recruiting outlets rated Klubnik the No. 1 quarterback in the country in 2022.
He became Clemson's regular starter last season. His 33 touchdown passes this season helped revive Clemson after an ugly 34-3 season-opening loss to Georgia. Klubnik had four TD pass as the Tigers won the ACC championship to earn their playoff berth, the program's first since 2020.
Ewers left high school early after that state championship game loss. He declared for college that spring and enrolled at Ohio State. His freshman season of 2021 was spent deep on the Buckeyes bench before transferring to Texas, where he led a Longhorns rejuvenation.
Texas won the Big 12 title last season and made the four-team playoff for the first time. The Longhorns reached No. 1 this season for the first time since 2008 and narrowly lost the SEC championship to Georgia in Texas' first year in the league.
As for facing Klubnik again, Ewers called it “cool.” Back in high school, Ewers had a swashbuckling mullet haircut that flowed from under his helmet. Now the most radical thing about him might be a slightly scraggly beard.
“Me and Cade have a good relationship,” Ewers said. “It's definitely cool to get to play each other again, come full circle.”