Playing for Butler family, wearing No. 19 ‘meant more’ to Michigan State's Tyson Smith

EAST LANSING — Tyson Smith said the decision to wear his teammate Josh Butler’s jersey in Columbus was an easy one.

And, if he would’ve declined, there were plenty of others eager to pay their respects.

Butler, a sophomore cornerback from Mesquite, Texas, missed the 48-3 setback at Ohio State last Saturday, attending his father Steven’s funeral in Dallas. Early in the week, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio approached the defensive backs with the idea of honoring their comrade.

Smith, who came to East Lansing in the same class with Butler in 2015, was the first to raise his hand.

“Me and him came in together,” Smith said Monday night after practice inside the Duffy Daugherty Football Building. “We’ve been in the same spot and competed for the same spot, things like that. We were always closer. Closest in the DB room. I just volunteered.”

Last Saturday at noon, No. 19 walked out of the visitor’s locker room in front of 107,000-plus at Ohio Stadium.

It was an emotional moment for Smith.

He said he felt like he was playing for himself and an entire grieving family back in Texas. His goal was to play the way Butler would want him to play — fast.

“I know if Josh was there, he is the type of competitor that wants to run around and make plays,” Smith said with a grin. “He has been waiting for his time to do that. Wearing his jersey, if he’s watching, that’s what he would’ve wanted me to do. I just wanted to make him happy in his time of need.”

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Butler, 20, who learned of his father’s unexpected passing Nov. 4 just hours before the Spartans hosted Penn State, has not spoken to the media. In social media posts, he has been more than willing to show how grateful he is to not only Smith and his teammates, but fans, friends and strangers who helped him raise more than $8,000 to help pay for the funeral.

“Today was my daddy's funeral, my brother Tyson Smith @_Giovanni15 wore my jersey in honor of my father,” Butler posted on Twitter on Saturday. “That's real love! Thank you bro. You really that dawg! #bros4life”

“Started this GoFundMe account to help pay for my dads funeral,” Butler continued in a separate post. “He didn't have any insurance so the cost was $5,000. With all the support from everyone & Spartan Nation y'all made it possible. I truly can't stop crying and thanking y'all for this! #GOGREEN!”

Dantonio said he didn’t want to make a big deal out of the gesture. The jersey change might well have been missed if Dantonio and Co., didn’t have to let Ohio State and stadium announcers know before kickoff.

“I just felt like we needed to remember him in some respect and maybe pay tribute to him and his family and his loss,” Dantonio said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “… I wanted to give our players and his friends an opportunity if they wanted to do that.”

Dantonio also praised Smith’s decision. He said the two share a close bond, but they have also battled recent adversity in their lives.

Smith, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior from Southfield, suffered a stroke in November 2016. He didn’t know if walking and talking would be an option going forward, let alone football. Smith said he felt alone after his diagnosis. Daily uplifting text messages from his mother helped him continue on.

Now, he realizes that he shut people out. He doesn’t want the same for his teammate.

“I had my situation, I know how it is,” Smith said. “You feel like everyone against you -- no one is with you. You may push people away, but you just want someone to talk to. You need some comfort around you. If anyone is in a time of need, I’m going to be there for them.”

Smith praised Butler for his strength and courage the day he received the news. Butler, under the arm of senior linebacker Chris Frey, solemnly made his way through adoring fans on the way into the stadium to take on the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions that cold, drizzly Saturday morning. Visibly shaken, Butler stared straight ahead.

Once inside, the team did its walkthrough. Arm-in-arm, the team strolled the length of the football field. Trailing behind was Dantonio, his arm over Butler’s shoulder, offering words of encouragement.

Butler started the game at left corner that afternoon. Under his helmet, tears and drifting thoughts.

Then, the lightning came.

For 3 hours and 22 minutes, the weather delay forced the Spartans and fans to vacate the stadium. Inside the home locker room, some guys listened to music. Some ate food and watched other games on television. Dantonio joked that he even caught one of his players coming out of the shower.

Butler, according to Smith, sat in front of his locker, his mind a thousand miles away.

“I didn’t think he’d even make the walk over, let alone play,” Smith said. “But he did, and he is probably one of the strongest individuals for that because I couldn’t have done it.

“… He was hurt. After we had the (delay), it hit him some more. He wasn’t thinking about football at all. I don’t know how he even played the first half. I felt it for him.”

The Spartans 27-24 upset win over Penn State was dedicated to Butler.

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Butler is back on campus and expected to play against Maryland on Saturday. Dantonio said he is day-to-day, emotionally, not physically. Smith said his teammate is still “uneasy, but better in spirit.”

Junior safety Khari Willis said that if Smith wouldn’t have worn Butler’s No. 19 in Columbus, he was next in line.

He also said Josh is being Josh again, laid back and positive like always. He said he is proud of both Butler and Tyson. He called them selfless and leaders.

“It meant a lot,” Willis said of Smith wearing the jersey. “We are all pretty tight. To see one of our brothers going through something and us to be able to bear some of that for him — we can’t feel what he is feeling, but we can try to bear some of the load for him — and honor him and show respect. Hats off, that was tremendous leadership by Tyson.”

Smith said he stayed in contact with Butler every day that he was in Texas. A text here and there. Uplifting words and even a few jokes came from their thumbs.

“He said, ‘Don’t look fat in my jersey,”’ Smith laughed, adding that he could tell Butler was taken aback by the gesture.

When asked what it felt like to wear that number, Smith looked up at the ceiling of the practice facility for a brief moment. He smiled.

“It meant more.”

Contact Cody Tucker at (517) 377-1070 or cjtucker@lsj.com and follow him on Twitter @CodyTucker_LSJ.