The Wolverine

October 2015 Issue

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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BY JOHN BORTON J ake Butt churned downfield be- tween the hashes at Utah's Rice- Eccles Stadium, 19 yards from the Promised Land. He wasn't open, but it didn't matter. The junior tight end found himself bracketed by Utes — free safety Jason Thompson on his right, strong safety Andre Godfrey on his left. Defensive back Marcus Williams trailed within striking distance, just for good mea- sure. Michigan grad-senior quarterback Jake Rudock fired it anyway, just like Butt wanted. In this scene, The Two Jakes were tougher than anyone Jack Nicholson could portray. Butt rose up between the safe- ties, soaring to snag the ball with his gloved hands. Thompson leaped and hung in the air as well, his right hand firmly on the football, desperately try- ing to claw it away as he crashed to the turf. No dice. Butt might as well have worn gloves saturated with Crazy Glue for all the chance the Utes had of prying the football away. The Wolverines wouldn't leave Utah with any smiles on the night, but that one moment, with the promise of the future and a new era, prompted exultation. "The touchdown catch was a big- time catch," new head coach Jim Har- baugh later marveled. "It was thrown into at least double coverage, and there was a third close by. Jake Rudock trusted Jake Butt that he'd go up and catch it. He plucked it. He snatched it, and it was a strong catch." Matter of fact, one Jake insists that the other not hesitate. "That really goes back to this sum- mer," Butt explained. "Jake really knows coverages. I would tell him, 'If the linebacker or the guy guarding me has his back turned, it's almost like he's not there. He can't see the ball in the air.' If he just puts it up high … and he did. "I just locked in on the ball. I've told him — if I can just get my hands on the ball, I'll come down with it." It's tough to begrudge Butt his op- portunities, or his enthusiasm. Just 12 months earlier, he was battling to make his way back from an offseason anterior cruciate ligament tear, on a team requiring a bit of surgery itself. It was headed for a 5-7 season, bi- NO BUTS ABOUT IT Tight End Jake Butt Emerges As A Prime Threat

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