Every time Devin C. Butler arrives at an away game, he walks onto the field and FaceTimes his mom. Whenever Jamal Custis gets frustrated, he prays or listens to Meek Mill, the rapper synonymous with his hometown of Philadelphia.

Those opposite actions are how two wide receivers with a similar status battle the mental obstacles that come with their lack of job security. Syracuse’s head coach Dino Babers has made it no secret that Butler and Custis are competing for one spot.

“I’m looking for a guy to take the position,” Babers said last month. “Just to flat take the position.”

With two games to go, neither has. Syracuse (4-6, 2-4 Atlantic Coast) has reliable targets in seniors Steve Ishmael and Ervin Philips, but hasn’t found a lock for the second outside receiver position. Custis won the job out of camp, but an early-season injury derailed his season and left him with just eight catches. Butler assumed the role and hauled in 27 passes, but has not done enough to fend Custis off completely, Butler dropped two passes early last week against Wake Forest and Custis was in on the next series.

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Babers, however, did note this week that he’s been especially impressed by Butler. For the sophomore, stepping into this role has been adjustment. He played quarterback his entire life before arriving at SU — he’s thrown a pass in half of the Orange’s games this season — and is still searching for comfort on the outside.

As the year has worn on, Butler has searched for small tweaks to his game to find that elusive comfort. He comes to the line of scrimmage with his hands tucked to his chest instead of dangling at his knees — something he learned from watching film of Julio Jones of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. He doesn’t predetermine which move he’ll use to beat the cornerback off the line of scrimmage and he catches the ball before he turns up field.

Most of these are fundamentals any wide receiver should know. But Butler was in his own head. His quarterback, junior Eric Dungey, encouraged him to relax and that helped him get to where he is now.

“He had more faith that I was going to play my game instead of playing the game for everybody else,” Butler said.

Now, after “falling in love with the receiver position,” Butler is trying to take the jump from comfortable to consistent. It’s a word he uses to describe what Philips and Ishmael do so well. Consistency is what Babers said he needs out of Butler this week. Or Custis. Whoever wants to do it first.

Custis, since returning against Clemson, has been relatively nonexistent save for a 47-yard touchdown against Florida State because of blown coverage. As a redshirt junior, not having a concrete role at this point has been frustrating, he said. But he’s stayed positive and tried to “let the chips fall where they may.”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely hard. I’m not perfect and I’m a human,” Custis said “… but it’s best to control what you can control.”

For now, all Custis can control is his effort, and he and Butler’s situation is one in which effort is a key ingredient to finding a solution. Butler called it a “friendly competition,” one that pushes the two of them in a battle for more snaps. They fight in practice, he said, but still dap each other up afterward.

“Yeah, you my brother,” Butler said. “But sometimes I got to eat too. And I’m hungry.”

Published on November 14, 2017 at 8:13 pm

Contact: jtbloss@syr.edu | @jtbloss