After a standout high school football career at Douglas Freeman , a boyhood University of Richmond fan with a smooth nickname that mirrors his slick running style is set to fulfill a childhood dream of competing for the Spiders . Warrick “Butter” Stephenson, a 5-foot-7, 180-pound senior running back for the Mavericks, announced his commitment to UR earlier this month. Stephenson, a region champion wrestler who totaled 1,282 yards and 18 touchdowns on 178 carries while hauling in 11 receptions for 142 yards and another TD this past fall en route to All-Metro honors, will be a preferred walk-on for Spiders coach Russ Huesman and Co. "Growing up in Richmond, it's always been my dream to go to Richmond. I grew up going to Richmond football games, Richmond basketball games. I've seen both of the programs flourish, and I've gone with my family and friends," Stephenson said. "I've always just enjoyed being at that school. As a kid, I have videos that I can look back on on my phone of me at the games, cheering and yelling." Douglas S. Freeman’s Warrick Stephenson (2) runs with the ball during a football game against Glen Allen, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. Stephenson's older sister, Julia Stephenson (Deep Run), was a first-team All-Metro defender her senior year (2022) for girls soccer. When Warrick and Julia were young children, the latter tried to say "brother," but it came out "butter" when referring to her little brother. The nickname stuck, and Butter rolled with it. Nobody calls him Warrick. "Then it sort of turned into 'I'm slippery on the field,'" Stephenson said. Slippery indeed, and resilient. Stephenson has always run bigger than his stature, said Mavericks coach Kevin Simonds, and displayed a level of heart and tenacity exceeding his measurables. He came in as a freshman with a "Mighty Mouse-type punch," Simonds said. The coach remembers Stephenson starting on both sides of the ball at the junior varsity level his sophomore year. In a clash of unbeaten teams against Glen Allen, Stephenson was all over the field defensively, and had an explosive run to tie the game in a performance that built belief and admiration within the Freeman coaching staff. "In that game, you kind of saw Butter's tenacity and gamesmanship basically take over, and we watched how some of the kids kind of followed suit with it," said Simonds, an assistant at the time who took the helm at Freeman last offseason. So in Stephenson's junior year, the Mavs staff knew he had a chance to be a leading piece alongside fellow RB Kevin China. That season, Simonds remembers a rugged game against a James River team with a strong D-line. But the Rapids had a number of two-way linemen, so the plan was to wear them down. In the second half, Stephenson started breaking off chunk run after chunk run — nobody could tackle him. "And so we thought 'Man, OK, this kid's pretty legit,'" Simonds said with a laugh. Stephenson capped his junior year with nearly 1,000 yards rushing in just eight games. Ahead of the 2024 season, as Simonds took over for former Mavs coach George Bland, he evaluated his roster, looking for cornerstones upon which to lay the foundation of his culture and expectations. "We needed to figure out who we could lean on, and Butter's tenacity on the wrestling mat, and his push to get better, physically, mentally, to know the offense, asking us questions in the offseason made me go, 'All right, we've got a kid that we could really lean on this season from a run game standpoint,'" Simonds said, adding that China, and a Mavs O-line spearheaded by senior All-Metro honoree Hank Beach, were instrumental in facilitating Stephenson's production for a Freeman team that finished 6-4. "As the games got tough, Butter rose to the occasion. He ended up making a lot of plays for us and doing some incredible things." Douglas Freeman’s Butter Stephenson is brought down by Monacan’s Trey Andrews in front of the North’s bench Saturday in the Big River Rivalry showcase at Randolph-Macon College. Simonds added that Stephenson, an elite student with a 4.5 GPA, isn't a boisterous competitor, but rather, leads by example. He was overlooked by plenty of recruiters because of his stature, but more than makes up for it with the heart and technical ability synonymous with a wrestler, the coach said. Stephenson stood out in the Big River Rivalry All-Star Game, and drew praise from his coaches there while competing among the 804's top high school football talent. "He's proven to everybody here that he belongs at a big-time program," Simonds said. "When you see his demeanor, you see how he talks, you see how he handles things, the way he pushes himself and others around him — you want to watch him succeed." Stephenson said all of his coaches and trainers have played a role in his success. Mavs strength and conditioning coach Art Blanchard, a former Spider himself (1992-1996), in particular, fostered Stephenson's growth athletically. Also making notable impacts on Stephenson's development have been Kenny Younger (Mills Godwin, Virginia Tech), Mavs assistant Matt Henshaw, Matt Akers, Bland, and of course, his parents, Kyle and Anne Stephenson. "Everyone in your life really serves a purpose for you to succeed," Stephenson said with a strong note of pride. "And I think even the smallest interactions at school with people you don't know well, those really push your day forward. I try to be kind to everyone, and I think it sort of reciprocates. Freeman as a whole has been great to me." In terms of his running style, Stephenson described himself as a versatile back, and said his wrestling background has built toughness, hip strength, balance and understanding of leverage and body positioning which translate from the mat to the gridiron. "Obviously, I'm a smaller running back, but that makes it so I'm able to use my hands. I can get out of the backfield, catch passes, make plays. I can run outside. I'm fast. I can make people miss," Stephenson said. "And then also you can give it to me up the gut, and I'll put my shoulder down and I fight. I don't go down easily. I take pride in being a tough runner, and I believe it's an advantage to me to be smaller, actually, because people try to tackle me high, so I can sort of throw people off of me and keep going. "I can take carry after carry without getting tired, and I may get hit hard, but in wrestling, you've got to be able to bounce back up and keep fighting. So I do the same thing in football." Stephenson has placed in the top four at the region wrestling meet the past two years to qualify for states, and this season won a region crown at 165 pounds after cutting down his weight following football season. He'll wrestle in the Class 5 state meet this coming week. Academically, Stephenson excels in math, and has enjoyed statistics, micro economics and finance classes. He plans to study business at UR. Among his favorite memories at Freeman are a 46-41 playoff win at Hermitage in 2023 in which Stephenson amassed more than 200 yards on the ground; and his region wrestling title this month, won with a decisive takedown in the final period. He said UR coaches see him as a tough runner and strong student-athlete who will bring leaderships intangibles to a Spiders program coming off a 10-3, CAA-title-winning campaign ahead of a move to the Patriots League in 2025. "It's always been my goal, really, to play (at UR) and keep competing for the 804," Stephenson said.
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