Spring Football Preview: Tight Ends

Tag: Jake Butt


25Feb 2016
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Spring Football Preview: Tight Ends

Jake Butt 750x

Jake Butt

Projected starter: Senior Jake Butt. Butt (51 catches, 654 yards, 3 TDs) has been Michigan’s leading tight end for the past two seasons, and last year he was in the running for the Mackey Award, which is given to the nation’s top tight end. He should once again be in the running for the Mackey Award and an All-America nod.

Departures: A.J. Williams (12 catches, 129 yards), who was mainly a blocking tight end, graduated. Meanwhile, redshirt junior backup Khalid Hill is moving to fullback this spring (LINK) and redshirt sophomore Chase Winovich is moving back to linebacker after spending one season at fullback/tight end.

Hit the jump for more on the tight end situation.

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1Dec 2015
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2015 All-Big Ten Offensive Team


The 2015 All-Big Ten Offense was released on Tuesday night (LINK). Junior tight end Jake Butt was named Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year. Butt has 48 catches (#2 on the team), 620 yards (#3), and 3 touchdowns (#3). Among tight ends in the Big Ten, he was ahead of Iowa’s Henry Krieger Cole by 19 catches and Minnesota’s Brandon Lingen by 225 yards, though a couple tight ends had more touchdown catches.

Hit the jump for the Coaches and Media teams.

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29Nov 2015
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Ohio State 42, Michigan 13


That was uglier than expected. 
And frankly, it was uglier than it should have been. For all the talk of Jim Harbaugh being a master motivator, most of the team laid an egg on Saturday. I suggested on Twitter that maybe Michigan should have hired Brady Hoke as a special consultant for Ohio State week. Obviously, that was a tongue-in-cheek comment, but Hoke took worse teams and went 1-3 against the Buckeyes, including a couple close losses and some exciting performances from Devin Gardner. We knew that Ohio State would run tempo, which would be a problem for Michigan’s defense, which was already missing two starting linemen and a key backup. The immediately concerning thing was that Ohio State was making plays early in the game. An unblocked inside linebacker facing a quarterback in the hole is a win for the defense – and normally a dream come true for a linebacker – but Joe Bolden whiffed and J.T. Barrett scored a touchdown. If you can’t make that play when you’re fresh, then it’s going to be a long day against a team that runs tempo.

Hit the jump for the rest of the game recap.

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8Nov 2015
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Michigan 49, Rutgers 16

This is an old picture but oh well.

Michigan did what they should have done. Michigan had some occasional issues stopping the run (running backs Robert Martin and Josh Hicks averaged 8.1 and 4.6 yards/carry, respectively), but it didn’t hurt them much because Rutgers wasn’t balanced at all. I was fairly impressed with Martin, who has some quickness, while both backs run tough. Without wide receiver Leonte Carroo, Rutgers had zero threats in the passing game. I mentioned in the game preview that I thought Michigan would struggle to pull away if Carroo played, but that clearly wasn’t an issue.

Jabrill Peppers on offense. On the one hand, I like the way that Michigan is strategically using Peppers on offense. Instead of giving him a series of plays, they are rotating him in and out of the game, showing different formations, etc. Sometimes you see teams give a guy a series or two throughout a game, but I think defenses can key on the guy and get used to him being on the field. With the way Michigan uses him, the defense has to adjust on the fly to a guy who can line up at WR, RB, and QB and be the most dynamic player on the field. It’s a good strategy. On the other hand, I think Michigan will have to unleash Peppers a little more down the stretch if it’s a closer contest. The thing that’s missing at times is the play where Peppers runs exactly what the play looks like it’s going to be – a go route, a toss sweep, etc. He is Michigan’s most dynamic player, but I think he needs to touch the ball in conventional ways, too. He said after the game that he suffered a thigh bruise in practice that hampered him a little bit, so this wasn’t the week to push it. I’m looking at a game like Ohio State as a place where he should probably be in on some standard plays.

Hit the jump for the rest of the game recap.

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19Oct 2015
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Michigan vs. Michigan State Awards

Surely, this is targeting.

A fellow coach on my staff has been diagnosed with cancer, and we are raising funds to help him and his family with the costs of surgery and treatments. If you are feeling generous, please use the sidebar Paypal button or this link (LINK) and all proceeds this week will go toward the family’s expenses. Thanks for your generosity!

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Jake Butt. Arguably your best player on offense should not end the game with 1 catch for 4 yards. He did make a “catch” that was ruled a catch by the nearest official, only to be overturned by a more distant official, and the “instant” replay came back without indisputable evidence enough to distinctly rule it a catch. But even then, Butt would have had just two catches. Michigan and Jake Rudock need to find more ways to get him the ball.

Hit the jump for more awards from Saturday’s game.

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