Jake Butt, Wolverine
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| Pickerington (OH) North tight end/defensive end Jake Butt (#84) |
Pickerington (OH) North tight end Jake Butt committed to Michigan on Sunday evening. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, and Wisconsin.
Butt is a 6’6″, 230 lb. prospect who claims a 4.7 forty. He had 27 receptions for for 424 yards and 7 touchdowns as a junior in 2011. He also had 17.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks from his defensive end position.
Ratings:
ESPN: 4-star DE
Rivals: 4-star TE, #96 overall
Scout: Unranked DE
247 Sports: 4-star TE, 90 grade, #10 TE
Butt previously proclaimed Michigan his leader “by far.” He visited Michigan this weekend and was enamored enough to sit down with his parents, talk it over, and immediately call up the coaches to commit. Despite planning to hold off on committing, Michigan’s recent run on commitments and the recent commitment of Detroit (MI) Crockett tight end Khalid Hill seems to have sped up his recruitment.
Butt has an excellent frame to grow into a 250-260 lb. traditional tight end. He’s a large target who ought to be able to make plays in traffic, and with above average speed, he’ll be a bit of a matchup problem for opponents. He adjusts well to the ball in the air and has the ability to make up for mediocre throws from his quarterback. While there aren’t many highlights of him blocking, he does show an aggressive nature as a defensive player that should make him an asset as an in-line blocker.
What I don’t see from Butt is the ability to gain yards after the catch. The plays in his highlight videos don’t really get him into open space very much, but there are a couple times where he has an opportunity to make something happen. I also see some shaky receptions where he juggles the ball a little bit before bringing it in, a trait Michigan fans have seen fairly often with Kevin Koger over the past few years. But will have to add some weight and strength, but that’s not a criticism, because almost every prospect needs to do that.
Overall, Butt is a very good tight end prospect. He’s not the smooth, explosive tight end we’ve seen making an impact in the NFL recently (Aaron Hernandez, Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, etc.), but he will remind Michigan fans of the tight ends of old – Jerame Tuman, Jay Riemersma, etc., guys who can catch, block, and run a little bit. With the graduation of Brandon Moore after the 2012 season, Butt may be in line to battle A.J. Williams for playing time at the Y position.
As mentioned above, Butt is the second tight end commitment in the 2013 class. With two having committed in 2012, as well, it seems that Michigan may be done with tight end recruiting for the cycle. The last Pickerington North player to commit to Michigan was offensive guard Justin Boren in the class of 2006.
For the best junior highlights, visit Rivals. Or take a look at these from his sophomore season: