The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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commitment profile college mail — to his young tight end, he didn't want to interfere with what he saw as a family choice. "He talked to me and kept me informed, but to be honest it was a family decision," Tarka said. "It kind of hit pretty quick. He was sit‑ ting on a couple offers for a long time, and then all of a sudden in the course of a week he had a rash of attention. "I know that he's been a little overwhelmed. His parents have been very diligent about taking him places and visiting various schools and getting a feel for the experience, so it was a family decision." Although Bunting took the Michi‑ gan visit in the fall, his big week of offers didn't come until early March, and included scholarship invitations from the likes of USC, Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame and several oth‑ ers. By the time Bunting committed to Michigan April 23, his options included practically every school in the country. That's not bad for a three-star prospect — and the No. 14 tight end nationally according to Rivals.com — who missed the majority of his ju‑ nior season with an ankle injury. He played in just four games, mostly at wide receiver, before missing the rest of the year. Despite that lack of production, colleges saw his size (6-7, 215 pounds) and potential to develop into a versatile tight end threat, and they didn't want to wait to offer him. It's his receiving ability that makes Bunting stand out from the pack. In addition to playing wideout at the high school level, he's a talented re‑ ceiver for the Core6 seven-on-seven team, and has been timed at 4.63 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He'll have to work on his blocking to suc‑ ceed at the next level, but has the ability and desire to do so. "He's going to have to learn to play with his hand down," Tarka said. "He needs to get quite a bit bigger and put some weight on. At our level, he'll certainly be a very good tight end. He just needs ex‑ perience doing that, he hasn't been asked to do that before. "I think the growth potential is there. He'll have an easy time put‑ ting on weight. After getting stron‑ ger, he can be a dominant blocker as well as a receiver." Bunting joins a receiving corps that includes the likes of sophomore Devin Funchess and freshman Jake Butt, rounding out a very talented group. The family atmosphere in that position group and the program in general inspired him to join up following his second trip, the last weekend in April. "Michigan from early on just felt like home," Bunting said. "I had a great weekend visit with my fam‑ ily, and I just felt like I had found a place where I would fit in and where I could succeed on and of the field. Michigan has a great tradition, and it just feels like the best place for me. "I really like the coaches and the players, and that fit was also really important." — Tim Sullivan