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| Jake Butt |
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 231 lbs.
High school: Pickerington (OH) North
Position: Tight end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #88
Last year: Butt was a senior in high school. He had 68 receptions for 907 yards and 12 touchdowns. I gave him a TTB Rating of 82.
Butt committed to Michigan in February 2012, joining the cavalcade of pledges. He had a very steady recruitment period, where he was mostly a 4-star all the way through, stayed injury-free, played well at The Opening last July, and got invited to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl; however, he was unable to participate in the Army game due to a minor injury. Butt enrolled at Michigan in January and practiced with the team in the spring. He looked slight in the spring game, and he struggled a little bit with blocking, but he didn't look out of place. He just gave off the impression that he was a freshman.
He's almost guaranteed to play this fall, because the pickings are slim at tight end. Offensive coordinator Al Borges likes to use two tight ends at once, and those two will probably be sophomores A.J. Williams and Devin Funchess in most cases, but Butt looks like the guy who will get the third-most reps. Redshirt junior Jordan Paskorz, some walk-ons, and fellow freshman Khalid Hill are the other choices. Butt is perhaps the best combination of size, speed, and catching ability in the group, and he could play either the Y or U position; most of the other players are pretty limited to one or the other. I don't expect him to replicate Funchess's athleticism or impact from last season, but #88 should get some balls thrown his way. The tight end position seems well stocked for the foreseeable future.
Prediction: Backup tight end; 3 receptions, 35 yards
That picture gives us some idea of where Jake got his height. (Have not seen his dad ...)
ReplyDeleteToo bad we can't redshirt him.
ReplyDeleteHe looks 12. Sounds like a future impact guy.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis. However I think the kid gets a TD. Want to see Borges go with 3 TE near the goal line, then move Butt and Funchess around with motion to create some mismatches.
ReplyDeleteI think Butt and Hill will both play quite a bit this year. They each have enough weight to not be totally overmatched physically and they both bring some good things to the table. Our TE depth chart is really going to be solid going forward. We just need to get these guys some experience and watch them develop into good players.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for us to be starting nothing but upperclassmen instead of freshmen...
ReplyDeleteButt just uploaded a picture on twitter of himself getting to Michigan, and where he is at now. Its a pretty significant difference. Id say he had to put a good 10-15 pounds of muscle. I think his production will be a bit more than you predicted, Magnus.
ReplyDeletePost pic please.
DeleteI've gone back and forth on expectation for Butt. Seems like you could argue he's entirely unready to play based on weight and that he has to play based on the depth chart. I agree with you though - at the very least he should be Funchess' backup.
ReplyDeleteI do think Paskorz (or some walk-on) will get more snaps than Butt though. Michigan uses blocking TEs almost every down and Williams won't be able to do it all.