After being a leader in the Kansas City Chiefs locker room for 15 years, Dustin Colquitt’s departure has left the team with a void. It’s a void that fourth-year kicker Harrison Butker hopes to be able to fill. On Friday, Butker described his relationship with Colquitt, who wasn’t just the punter for Kansas City, but also Butker’s holder on field goals and PATs. The synergy between the two players led to some record-breaking performances over the past three seasons. Butker credits Colquitt’s leadership and football prowess for a lot of his success.
“Dustin was definitely a leader when I got to the Chiefs,” Butker told media members. “He was able to guide me and you talked about the caddy to golfer relationship. I’d go out there on really windy days and sometimes I’d have an awful warmup off of the sticks and then Dustin would make some changes with the hold and I’d be kicking the ball straight and making them. So he was able to do a lot with the holds and I think after three years of picking his brain I was able to pick up on a lot of expertise.”
Butker learned plenty from Colquitt during their time together on the Chiefs. Now it’s Butker’s turn to impart that knowledge to the next generation of specialists in Kansas City. Currently, Butker is working with both Tommy Townsend and Tyler Newsome to do his part in helping to determine the next punter and holder for the Chiefs. Building trust during this time will be critical for when the players are finally able to take the field with there other Chiefs teammates.
“So now with Tommy [Townsend] and Tyler [Newsome] competing for the starting punting job that obviously means that they’re going to be the holder,” Butker explained. “We’ve been getting together six days a week, and number one, building that relationship, building the bond because you have to be close. You’re going to be kicking game-winning kicks together and you have to be able to trust the other person. Then from there just trying to figure out the communication for the ball lean, for the laces, for how their hand is out when they call for the ball from James [Winchester]. There are just so many small things that you have to perfect. There are so many guys that can do my job, that can hold the ball but how well can you do it? Can you do it at an elite level? I think that’s what separates people and it’s focusing on the details and that’s one, being the leader, now that Dustin’s no longer here unfortunately, I’m kind of the leader and I’m the one teaching them about the holding stuff. Dustin was able to share a ton of information with me and now kind of going on year four I’m gonna have to be the leader now and help those guys out.”
Colquitt’s impact on the Chiefs’ special teams unit will extend well beyond his tenure with the team. Butker is sharing all of the lessons he learned from Colquitt with the young players trying to make the team. Some of those lessons will extend beyond the football field, while others will help Townsend and Newsome become better players.
“I think he added a great perspective,” Butker explained of Colquitt. “Football is temporary. Obviously, Dustin loves it, I love the game of football but there are bigger things going on outside of it. He’s a family man. He’s got five kids and I loved going over to his house and seeing how he interacted with his kids and he’s a great father. Now I’m a husband and father as well so I was able to learn a ton from him. He was a big role model for me in that locker room to see how an NFL player should conduct himself on and off the field. Now James Winchester, our snapper, he’s the old man now and I guess I’m in the number two spot with Tyler and Tommy both being young pups.”
James Winchester may be the longest-tenured specialist, but a lot of the responsibility to lead that group will fall on Butker as the kicker. It’s clear that he hopes to make his mentor proud by acting as a role model for the young guys now joining the Chiefs, just as Colquitt did with Butker back in 2017.
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