Tag: Ian Bunting

Michigan 35, Oregon State 7

De’Veon Smith

Oregon State is bad. This was the first thing that stuck out to me after watching the full game. I hate to burst the bubble of anyone hoping that Michigan improved greatly from week one to week two, but I’m not sure that this game is evidence of a ton of Michigan improvement. Oregon State had two bad snaps on punts, dropped a kickoff, consistently allowed Michigan’s defensive line to get penetration, and couldn’t bring down De’Veon Smith, who other teams haven’t struggled that much with in his first two-plus seasons. The Beavers also didn’t have a dangerous passing game, even after top cornerback Jourdan Lewis left the game early with what looked like a possible concussion. I like Gary Andersen as a coach, but he has a young team with lots of holes right now.

Hit the jump for some more thoughts on Michigan’s win over Oregon State.

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2015 Season Countdown: #62 Ian Bunting

I just want to apologize for the somewhat inconsistent posting for the past few days. Normally I like to put up at least two posts per day (6:30 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.), but my schedule has been thrown off a bit and I sometimes don’t have a chance to write until later in the morning. Also, this week’s recruiting updates will be posted on Wednesday and/or Thursday. Thanks for reading! read more

Michigan releases spring 2015 roster

Brady Pallante is a fullback now. Brady Pallante is not #23.

Michigan released its spring roster on Monday as the Wolverines begin spring practice on Tuesday (LINK). Here are some notable updates to the roster.

Ian Bunting: Bunting is up to 6’7″ and 243 lbs. Michigan needs help at tight end this fall, so 243 lbs. is a good sign of him developing physically. He should be up over 250 lbs. by the fall.

Brian Cole: Cole, a true freshman early enrollee, is wearing #81. He’s listed at 6’2″, 200 lbs.

Ross Douglas: Douglas was recruited as a cornerback, moved to slot receiver, moved to running back, and now is back at corner. Still wearing #29, he is now listed as Ross Taylor-Douglas.

Derrick Green: Green is listed at 5’11” and 234 lbs.

Ty Isaac: Isaac is listed at 6’3″ and 240 lbs.

Alex Malzone: Malzone, a true freshman early enrollee, is wearing #12. He’s listed at 6’2″, 218 lbs.

Brady Pallante: Pallante came to Michigan as a nose tackle prospect and is now listed as a redshirt freshman, 6’0″, 276 lb. fullback wearing #45.

Terry Richardson: Richardson is listed as a redshirt junior cornerback and is finally nearing close-to-acceptable weight at 174 lbs. at 5’9″.

Matt Thompson: Thompson is a new addition as a walk-on quarterback from Cincinnati (OH) Indian Hills. He’s listed at 6’5″, 214 lbs. as a redshirt freshman. Here are Thompson’s Hudl highlights from his senior year (LINK). His delivery is a little bit wonky, but he doesn’t look too bad for a walk-on. He’s not a bad guy to have available for running a scout team and such. It also looks like he’s hit a growth spurt since high school.

Ryan Tice: Tice is a 6’1″, 177 lb. walk-on who enrolled early out of Saline (MI) Saline. I mainly note this because Michigan graduated both their punter and kicker, so Tice might be competing for one of those jobs, along with walk-on Kenny Allen (punter) and 2015 signee Andrew David (kicker).

2014 Season Countdown: #57 Ian Bunting

Ian Bunting (image via Scout)

Name: Ian Bunting
Height: 6’7″
Weight: 230 lbs.
High school: Hinsdale (IL) Central
Position: Tight end
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #94
Last year: Bunting was a senior in high school. He had 10 receptions for 165 yards. He was a 247 Composite 4-star, the #11 tight end, and the #315 player overall.
Final TTB Rating: 78

Bunting committed to Michigan in April 2013, shunning offers from the likes of Florida State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oregon, among numerous others. He played mostly wide receiver as a junior and put up some decent numbers, but he moved to tight end for his senior year, where his receiving numbers dropped significantly. He also earned an invitation to Nike’s The Opening last July.

Bunting’s role for 2014 seems a little up in the air. He was recruited to Michigan as a “U-back” type who could split out, play in the slot, play a little on the line, etc. Michigan already has a jumbo wide receiver in Devin Funchess, and Bunting doesn’t have quite the athleticism of Funchess. The Wolverines also have a pretty good tight end in sophomore Jake Butt, who is recovering from an ACL tear and won’t be back until a few games into the season. Other options are limited with blocking specialist A.J. Williams, converted defensive end Keith Heitzman, and rough-around-the-edges Khalid Hill. In my opinion, the coaches have to get Bunting ready for the beginning of the year so he can be a receiving threat from the tight end position, which is severely lacking without Butt. However, once the big sophomore returns, Bunting should be able to take a back seat.

Prediction: Backup tight end; 4 catches, 38 yards

Video: Ian Bunting raps

Incoming freshman tight end Ian Bunting tries his hand at rapping in the video below. On the one hand, 17-year-old kids are going to do things like post videos of themselves, post to Instagram, etc. That’s what teenagers do. On the other hand, videos like this are something that might come back to haunt you in 5 or 10 or 20 years.