Twenty-five years ago this week, Georgia placekicker Kevin Butler launched a 60-yard, game-winning field goal to help the Bulldogs upset No. 2 Clemson.

The kick caused Sanford Stadium and broadcaster Larry Munson to go “worse than bonkers,” and made Butler a Georgia legend.

Today, his son is carrying on the tradition.

Drew Butler, a redshirt sophomore at Georgia, will be one of the Bulldogs’ captains Saturday against Arizona State, and for good reason – in his first season as a starter, the younger Butler has wowed coaches, fans and opposing teams en route to boasting the nation’s best punting average.

“It feels good,” Drew Butler said. “It just goes to show that all the hard work really pays off . [to maintain the same success] every week, that would be a pretty cool thing to do.”

Growing up the son of Kevin (who also enjoyed success on the NFL level), you could think that Drew would have had a kicking shoe on his right foot from the minute he could walk.

Not so.

Always a golfer and soccer player, Drew didn’t pick up football, or kicking, until his sophomore year of high school at Peachtree Ridge in Suwanee.

“He was around me chasing footballs and always kicking like kids do,” Kevin said. “But one night at dinner he just sat down and said he wanted to go out for the football team.

“I think that’s the first time I ever choked on mashed potatoes.”

Added Drew, smiling: “We were a brand new high school, and I think we lost a couple games on some missed extra points. I was always able to kick the ball about 20 yards, so I figured I should just go out for the team.”

And it’s a good thing he did.

After spurning an offer from Duke, Butler paid his dues in Athens and is now pinning opposing offenses deep in their own territory.

Said Georgia coach Mark Richt: “What can you say, other than he’s been fantastic.”

* * *

A good punter can be a defense’s best friend. That’s something Drew Butler is learning quickly.

“The guys give me high fives and stuff when I walk on the field,” Butler said. “Letting the defense defend 92 yards instead of 50 or something like that, it’s got to make them feel good, and it makes me feel good too. It makes me feel like I can help out the defense and do something big, fire the team up and hopefully like last week close the game out.

Butler’s sheer stats are impressive – a nation-best 54.55-yard average, well above the all-time NCAA record for season punting average, which sits at 50.3 yards per kick.

But upon closer inspection, they’re even more outstanding, and even more telling of how Georgia’s defense will fare.

Butler has punted 11 times this season, and the opponents’ subsequent possessions have produced this: seven punts of their own, a turnover and just 17 points.

And with Georgia’s offense averaging three turnovers a game, most of the time giving the defense a short field to work with, Butler’s efforts aren’t going unappreciated.

“Every time I see Drew punt and they stop the ball on the three, four-yard line, it just gives the defense energy,” said safety Bryan Evans. “We just run out on the field pumped, rather than them getting the ball on the 50 and knowing we have a short field to go against. Just knowing that Drew is going to give us good field position, that is a big up for the defense.”

Added linebacker Rennie Curran: “Field position is everything in this game, and to have Drew come out and perform, it means everything. When you’re on defense and the offense has to drive more than 80 yards, that’s definitely a boost. More times than not you’re going to go three-and-out when you’re in a position like that.

“It really sucks the air out of an offense.”

If there’s one thing Butler still need to work on, it’s hangtime, Richt said. But, an unproven quantity after observing Brian Mimbs (arguably the best punter in Georgia history) for two seasons, Butler has shown impressive skills thus far in 2009.

“Me being a new punter, maybe the coaches hadn’t seen that ability yet,” he said. “But it definitely feels good to switch the field position and my goal is to do that each and every week. That’s what my job is.”

* * *

A quarter-century has passed since Kevin Butler’s famous field goal against Clemson, still the longest in Georgia history. Butler went on to a successful NFL career, becoming the Chicago Bears’ all-time leading scorer and earning the nickname “Butthead.”

He had three children, two of which now go to school at Georgia. One is carrying on his Bulldog kicking tradition, while simultaneously stepping out of the shadow of his father’s legacy.

“I think the only hesitation on his side was dealing with placekicking at Georgia,” Kevin said. “That was something he would have never been able to overcome.”

Said Drew: “It’s nice to be kind of creating my own niche. I really didn’t expect to be kicking at Georgia, or anywhere else.”

Expected or not, Drew Butler is statistically the best punter in the nation right now. But it’s the honor of being named one of Saturday’s captains that his father takes the most pride in.

“To me that’s the neatest thing of all,” said the elder Butler, who co-hosts a Bulldog post-game radio show. “Twenty-five years ago I never thought I would have a son, and never one that would be kicking at Georgia. This week is special.”