Butler football team picked third in Jayhawk preseason poll

Working off the radar is something new for Butler Community College’s football program.

For now, that’s just fine with first-year coach Tim Schaffner.

“It’s perfect right now, we get to focus on building our team,” Schaffner said. “After all, everything gets shook out on Saturdays when we play. Preseason rankings don’t determine anything.”

The Jayhawk Conference’s preseason rankings were released at Friday’s media day in Wichita, with Butler picked third — right where the Grizzlies finished last season. Defending champion Hutchinson was picked first and Coffeyville was picked second.

“Being picked third really wasn’t that much of a surprise,” Schaffner said. “In my mind, that’s kind of where I had us as far as the preseason stuff. I don’t think there were a lot of surprises as to where anybody was picked.”

Schaffner replaces longtime coach Troy Morrell, who resigned in December after 15 seasons, 12 Jayhawk titles and three NJCAA national titles. Schaffner was hired in January.

“Don’t get confused about who I’m replacing,” said Schaffner, who has been Butler’s defensive coordinator since 2005. “Troy was an icon, a legend. We’ve talked about how, when he took over, he was coming in after Butler won two straight national titles ... it’s never going to be easy for the next guy to fill those shoes.”

Schaffner got the bulk of his recruiting done by the end of the school year, but kept his eyes and ears open this summer. It paid off when the Grizzlies scored a high-profile transfer in the middle of June in Oklahoma quarterback Justice Hansen, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound former four-star recruit from Santa Fe High in Edmond, Okla.

“The approach was kind of like NBA or NFL free agency in the summer,” Schaffner said. “If somebody fits your program, that’s great.”

Hansen has been in El Dorado the last month taking classes and working out with his new teammates.

“I think he fits in real well with us,” Schaffner said. “We thought we were set with three quarterbacks, but we added another one.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Butler football team picked third in Jayhawk preseason poll."