BUTLER TWP — When Charlie Kreinbucher began playing football the summer before his sophomore year at Butler, he didn't even know how to get into a proper stance.

Kreinbucher had limited knowledge about the sport, but his size — 6-foot-5 — and athleticism made him an intriguing prospect.

“Honestly, I had no idea how to play football or how the game works,” said Kreinbucher, who will be a senior on the Golden Tornado football team this fall. “I didn't really know anything until maybe midway through my sophomore year. I was still learning.”

So were the coaches, who had trouble deciding how to utilize their newest raw talent.

Butler coach Eric Christy and his staff tried Kreinbucher at multiple positions, even cornerback.

“They tried to get me on the field the best they could,” Kreinbucher said. “One of the ways they thought to do that was to put me at corner.

“You know,” Kreinbucher said, pausing to let out a chuckle, “I was the biggest cornerback in the WPIAL at my size. It worked. I got a little more experience and learned more about the game. Got moved to tight end, receiver and defensive end, so it was a big learning period.”

Now less than two years later, Kreinbucher was such a force at tight end during a recent 7-on-7 camp for Butler at Washington & Jefferson University, no one could cover him.

No one could stop him.

“He was unbelievable,” said Butler head football coach Eric Christy. “Guys were just bouncing off of him.

“Our offensive coordinator, Todd Smith, and some of our other offensive coaches and I just looked at each other and said, 'He's here.'”

Kreinbucher's rapid ascension in football garnered a great deal of interest from outside the Butler program, too.

Division I colleges came calling for Kreinbucher and he admitted it was overwhelming at times.

But last week, Kreinbucher put the recruiting process behind him by committing to the University of Akron to play tight end.

“I went to a camp at (the University of Pittsburgh) and I performed pretty well,” Kreinbucher said. “Akron came out to watch me and they were always in contact with me.”

Akron was always at the top of Kreinbucher's list.

He was going to wait to make his decision at the end of June, but when he received an offer from the Zips, he decided to strike right away.

“I figured why wait?” Kreinbucher said. “Nothing else I think was better or was going to be better.”

Kreinbucher said he still finds it a bit surreal that he went from not playing football at all to getting a D-I shot in two short years.

“I'm very grateful for the opportunities I was given,” he said. “You know, it wasn't handed to me. I had to work at it a lot. I was lucky enough to get that chance.”

Kreinbucher's task now is to put some weight on that tall frame of his.

He's already begun to do that.

The problem in the past was keeping it on. Kreinbucher would shed much of the bulk he gained in football when he switched over to the basketball court for Butler.

But this year he started a new nutrition program and has been able to maintain his size and add to his strength.

“Keeping the weight on was always a problem,” Christy said. “He bought into the eating program and has maintained his weight and actually gained a little bit through the basketball season and the spring. The goal I think is getting him to (250 pounds). Maybe not this year, but maybe by the time he graduates so he's ready to roll at the college level.”

Kreinbucher can't wait to roll this fall for Butler.

Christy can't wait to see what he can do.

“He never played it, so it was fun to watch him develop,” Christy said. “You could see it on the basketball court and you could see as soon as he translated what he's doing in basketball to football, he'd be a force. And it just clicked in the offseason last year and even more so far in the offseason this year.”

That should make for an exciting season for the Golden Tornado, who now play in District 10.

With Cooper Baxter back at quarterback and other offensive weapons returning to the fold, there are high hopes for the program this year.

“We're setting big goals this year,” Christy said. “Make the playoff and finish over .500.”

The last time Butler did both in a season was 1993. The last winning campaign was in 1997.

“I'm very excited,” Kreinbucher said. “We won our first two games in three years last year. If we didn't get our last game taken away because of COVID, I think we had a good chance to win that one, too. We have the same schedule more or less this year and I think we can build off of that with more wins.”