The Wolverine

their best this September, they are destined to be pushed aside. THE TOP FOUR CONTRIBUTORS SO FAR 1. Jake Butt, TE: With 41 grabs for 446 yards and four touchdowns, Butt is already in elite company — his 41 receptions are the second-most ever recorded by a U-M tight end in his first two seasons, just one behind Jerame Tuman (1995-96). Butt should have a shot at the program's top tight end mark of 118 catches, held by Jim Mandich (1967-69). 2. De'Veon Smith, RB: The 5-11, 228-pounder was a three-star recruit and is constantly compared to five- star classmate Derrick Green. While Green has more overall offensive touches (167-137) and yards (767- 662), Smith earns the edge because he has survived two full seasons; Green went out in week six of 2014 with a season-ending injury. 3. Jourdan Lewis, CB: The dearth of quality experience from defensive players in the 2013 class is staggering — Lewis' seven starting assignments are double that of safety Dymonte Thomas (three), while defensive end Taco Charlton has one start. Lewis has eight career pass breakups and two interceptions, pedestrian num- bers overall, but the best production among the defenders in his cohort. 4. Shane Morris, QB: Morris has experienced two dramatically dif- ferent results in his two career starts, completing 63.2 percent of his pass attempts for 196 yards in a bowl loss to Kansas State in 2013, while com- pleting just 36.8 percent of his throws for 49 yards in a loss to Minnesota in 2014. He has thrown five career inter- ceptions and has yet to throw his first touchdown in 87 attempts. READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT THIS FALL Jaron Dukes, WR: The 6-4, 204-pound wide receiver was one of three wideouts unceremoniously announced in the 2013 class, along with fellow three-stars Csont'e York and Da'Mario Jones. While York was kicked off the team and Jones has faded, Dukes spent the spring trying to carve out a niche under new coach Jim Harbaugh. He's not a vertical threat, but he's a big-bodied target that fig- ures to be involved considerably in the passing game, at least early on in the season. Delano Hill, S: More Detroit Cass Tech alums have petered out than thrived at Michigan, but Hill and classmate Jourdan Lewis could re- verse that trend with impact junior campaigns. The 6-0, 204-pounder was so impressive in the spring that his coaches spent the summer designing packages in which Hill, senior Jarrod Wilson and redshirt freshman Jabrill Peppers (also safeties) are all on the field together. Maurice Hurst Jr., DL: Hurst was a mauler in the Michigan spring game, routinely bursting through the guard- center gap to create chaos in the of- fensive backfield. Though not overly big for an interior lineman at 6-2, 281 pounds, Hurst has that quick first step that can give offensive linemen fits. If he can follow-up his spring with

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