The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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56 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2023 2023 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE The Wolverines are set at the top of the depth chart at quarterback with soon- to-be junior J.J. McCarthy. From there, the competition for backup reps will be heated throughout the offseason, thanks to the addition of former Utah and Indi- ana quarterback Jack Tuttle. Tuttle, who was a four-star signee and the No. 163 overall prospect in the 2018 class, spent the first season of his college career at Utah before transfer- ring to Indiana in 2019. He appeared in 15 games for the Hoosiers with five starts from 2019-22, but announced last fall he would transfer out of Bloomington for his final season of eligibility. In an era where many will enter the transfer portal and cut and run from the team immediately, Tuttle stuck it out last season. The team captain felt he had an obligation to his Hoosier brethren to see things through. "It's extremely difficult," Tuttle told HoosiersNow after his decision. "I stated before that I didn't agree with the deci- sion at all. It was tough for me right away. I just needed to take a second to control what I could control, and come back and tell the boys I'm going to be here for you and I'm not going anywhere. "You've got to stick it out and grind through the adversity, and I'm going to do that for my boys." Tuttle's maturity and leadership were long seen as his standout traits with In- diana. Head coach Tom Allen raved about the type of person he is. "He's been a great leader for us," Allen said. "He's been a great teammate, and I don't expect that to change. He and I are on the same page with that, and I have a lot of love and respect for Jack." "I would recommend him to anyone, and if he ever wanted to get in this profes- sion, I would hire him in a heartbeat," In- diana offensive coordinator Walt Bell said. "He is the consummate teammate. He has done an incredible job. … I can guaran- tee you this, there is absolutely none, un- equivocally, zero ill will toward Jack Tuttle. "He is a great kid, great teammate and he is going to make somebody a really good quarterback." At Michigan, Tuttle is expected to com- pete with junior Davis Warren, a former walk-on recently put on scholarship, for the backup quarterback job. His role should mirror that of Alan Bowman, who spent 2021-22 in Ann Arbor as a reserve QB before transferring to Oklahoma State. Tuttle completed 104 of 182 passes for 901 yards with 5 touchdowns and 6 inter- ceptions in his Indiana career. — Anthony Broome U-M's tight end group is going to look quite different in 2023 with longtime stal- warts Luke Schoonmaker (NFL), Erick All (transfer), Joel Honigford and Carter Selzer (graduation) moving on from the program. In most cases, this would open the door for younger names to step into a bigger role. But the Wolverines elected to replace veterans with a fresh veteran face. Former Indiana tight end AJ Barner (6- 6, 250) jumped Big Ten East schools in the transfer portal this winter after spending three seasons in Bloomington. Barner had 28 receptions for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns in 10 games last sea- son with Indiana. During the 2021 season, he hauled in 14 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. Barner played eight games on special teams during the truncated COVID season in 2020, meaning he has as many as two years of college remaining due to the pandemic-related eligibility pause. The former Hoosiers captain already has a big fan in the building in projected sophomore starter Colston Loveland. "He's a super cool guy," Loveland told The Wolverine in January. "We're going to get together and do good things. I can't wait to work with him. I've seen him play a little bit. He blocks well, and has great hands. He's a good tight end." Barner has established himself as a solid receiving threat, but he's also adept as a run-blocking tight end. He ranked 10th among Big Ten tight ends who had more than 108 run-blocking snaps with a 59.7 Pro Football Focus grade in that cat- egory in 2022, while the 65.2 rating he had on gap-scheme runs slotted fifth. Barner's all-around skill set makes him a fit in Michigan's balanced offense, where he is expected to form a one-two punch with Loveland at the top of the depth chart, not unlike Schoonmaker and All's dynamic when both were healthy the last few seasons. "Michigan uses a lot of two-tight-end sets, and Barner and holdover Colston Loveland — a rising star who had a solid true freshman season in 2022 — will be an effective duo," On3's Mike Huguenin wrote. "Barner was a two-way player in high school and was recruited by a lot of schools to play defense. While he played strictly tight end at IU, he still is develop- ing at the position and has an intriguing upside." — Anthony Broome Quarterback Jack Tuttle Brings Leadership, Big Ten Experience To U-M AJ Barner Helps Reload A New-Look Tight End Room Indiana University Mission Hills High San Marcos, Calif. Graduate/1 Quarterback Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 210 Honors: Four-time letter winner at Indiana … Team captain during the 2022 season … Two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2021-22) … Nomi- nated for AFCA Good Works Team and Wuerffel Trophy. Recruiting Rankings: On3 ranked him as a college three-star … In the class of 2018, he was rated as the No. 25 player in California, and the No. 14 quarterback and No. 163 overall pros- pect nationally, per the On3 Consensus. Jack Tuttle Indiana University Aurora High Aurora, Ohio Senior/2 Tight End Ht.: 6-6 • Wt.: 250 Honors: Three-year let- ter winner at Indiana … Team captain during the 2022 season … Two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2021- 22). Recruiting Rankings: On3 ranked him as the No. 12 tight end in the trans- fer portal and a college three-star … In the class of 2020, was ranked as the No. 48 player in Ohio, and the No. 53 tight end and No. 1,169 overall prospect na- tionally, per the On3 Consensus. AJ Barner