At Calabasas High School, Butler earned first-team All-Frontier League honors as a junior. He was named first-team All-Miramonte League honors in 2002 and selected as the team's Defensive Most Valuable Player in his last two seasons. Named to the Los Angeles Daily News' first-team, he was his team's Big Hitter Award winner in 2002 while playing on the defensive line.

 

Butler enrolled at Nevada in 2003, spending the season on the scout team as a defensive tackle. The 285-pounder appeared in eight games in 2004, playing behind Chris Barry at left defensive tackle. He finished his first varsity year by collecting 19 tackles (7 solos) with an assisted sack, four stops for losses and a pass deflection.

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He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent on 2008 and would later spend the 2009 season with the Las Vegas Locomotives.

 

Butler who had signed with the New York Jets in January 2010 was later picked up by the New Orlean Saints.

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On January 9, 2014, Butler signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

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Darnay Holmes is the most highly recruited player from Calabasas High School. Listed as a five-star recruit by both Scout.com and Rivals.com ... Scout's No. 13 recruit nationally and the top-rated cornerback in the nation ... No. 5 on the Scout.com West 150 List ... No. 4 on the Scout California 100 List ... First-team Scout.com 2017 Class All-American ... Rivals.com No. 4 cornerback prospect in the nation and the No. 27-rated player overall in the nation ... No. 4 on the Rivals.com California 100 List ... No. 41 on the ESPN 300 List and a four-star recruit ... No. 13 on the si.com National List ... PrepStar Dream Team selection and No. 10 overall prospect on the national list ... CalHiSports.com first-team All-State selection ... As a senior, he made 30 tackles ... On offense, he caught 69 passes for 1,214 yards and 14 touchdowns ... Named All-CIF Div. V ... Totaled 39 receiving touchdowns for his prep career ... Also returned kicks ... Invited to the U.S. Army All-America Bowl Game.

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Originally a 4th-round (110th pick overall) draft choice by the Giants in 2020. Holmes played in 35 games with 33 starts in 3 seasons at UCLA, where his career totals included 121 tackles (89 solo), 8 interceptions, 28 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries…Also averaged 23.1 yards on 38 kickoff returns, including a 93-yard touchdown in 2018.