New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced Thursday that the club has signed undrafted free agent wide receiver Emmanuel Butler, linebacker Chase Hansen, guard Mike Herndon defensive end Corbin Kaufusi and defensive back Darius Williams to three-year contracts.
Emmanuel Butler – Wide Receiver, Northern Arizona (6-4, 220): Butler lettered at Northern Arizona from 2004-18, appearing in 45 games and posting 187 receptions for 3,217 yards (17.2 avg.) and 33 touchdowns. After missing all but two games in 2017 (shoulder), the Phoenix native returned to action in 2018 to show the form of his 2015-16 campaigns as a redshirt senior, posting 35 grabs for 676 yards (19.3 avg.) with seven touchdowns, including an 84-yard grab in nine contests. Butler is the Lumberjacks' all-time leader in receiving yardage and touchdown receptions.
Chase Hansen - Linebacker, Utah (6-2, 230): Hansen moved to linebacker as a senior after playing safety his first three college seasons and was selected first-team All-Pac-12 and a consensus second-team All-American, starting 13 games, finishing second on the team with 114 tackles, leading the conference with 22 stops for loss and adding two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown and four passes defensed. The Highland, Utah native appeared in 43 career games with 35 starts for the Utes posting college career totals of 272 tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss, six picks and 16 passes defensed.
Mike Herndon – Guard, Pittsburgh (6-4, 310): Herndon was a four-year letterman for the Panthers, finishing his career playing in 44 games, primarily on the offensive line, but playing at nose tackles as a redshirt sophomore in 2016. In 2018, the Greenville, Va. native started all 14 games at right guard and was a third-team All-ACC selection.
Corbin Kaufusi – Defensive end, Brigham Young (6-9, 278): Kaufusi played in 37 career games with 28 starts at defensive end for BYU, posting totals of 154 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, two forced fumbles and four passes defensed. In 2018, he enjoyed a breakout campaign, posting 56 tackles, 9.5 stops for loss, 8.5 sacks and two passes defensed. Kaufusi also played three years for the BYU basketball team.
Darius Williams – Defensive back, Colorado State-Pueblo (6-0, 193): The Gilbert, Ariz. native played four seasons at Colorado State-Pueblo. He played in all 13 games with 12 starts at cornerback in 2018 and collected 51 tackles, three interceptions, 11 passes defensed, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery, earning D2Football.com All-American first-team Defense. He also took a lateral from a recovered blocked field goal attempt 68 yards to the end zone. In his four-year career, Williams' 17 career picks tie for second all-time in school history, with five returned for a touchdown.
