CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- North Pike High School isn't near much of anything in southwest Mississippi. There are a couple of nearby gas stations and a poultry processing plant that locals simply call the chicken plant. Were it not for the railroad coming through here many years ago it may not exist.
"We don't even have what you'd call a small Mississippi town," North Pike football coach Chris Smith said with a laugh.
So when the Carolina Panthers selected defensive tackle Vernon Butler in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday it was big news.