Taj Butts

Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
St. Louis, Mo.
High School:
De Smet

Taj Butts

A three-star prospect by all the major recruiting services who shot up the Rivals.com rankings and is rated as the state’s No. 7 player at position and the nation’s No. 27 running back … Sports Illustrated All-American Candidate as a senior … Ranked No. 9 on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Super 30 list heading into his senior season … Had 56 carries for 419 yards (7.5 avg.) as a senior for Class 6 De Smet and added three catches for 38 yards over seven games … Led De Smet with 18 touchdowns as a junior while rushing for a team-high 1,279 yards on 131 carries (9.8 avg.) … He helped De Smet to a Class 6 state title as a junior, outscoring opponents by an average of 44-9 thanks to a dominant ground attack led by Butts … As a sophomore, he ran for 729 and 13 scores … High school teammate was fellow Mizzou signee Mekhi Wingo, who was the school’s first 2021 commit … Multiple-sport athlete who competed in track and field and played volleyball … Birthday: June 3, 2003 … Primary recruiter: Curtis Luper … Chose Mizzou over offers from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Purdue and West Virginia.