The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Sitting Down With Senior Tight End Jake Butt Michigan senior tight end Jake Butt, an All-America candidate for the second straight year, bypassed the NFL to return for his senior sea- son. He sat down with The Huge Show's Bill Simonson — The Wolver- ine staffers are frequent guests on his show, broadcast throughout the state of Michigan — recently to give his take on spring ball and more. Question: You're the veteran of this group … do you take the young guys under your wing and teach them what you know? Butt: "I've been doing this for a while now. I have little tricks up my sleeve. The game has slowed down. For me, I'm not as fast as some of guys in the room or as strong or big, so I have had to use little tricks to win on routes or blocks over the years. "I just try to teach these guys … maybe shoving a hip on some of your routes, get a little push off." Question: What have you seen from the quarterbacks this spring? Butt: "They're all doing a really good job. They're all fighting; all obviously really want the job. Some think it's not a good thing to have, but I think it's a great thing to have competition. Competition brings out the best in everybody. "You can't come into one practice, one meeting, one film session relaxed be- cause they are all fighting for that job. I think they're going to push each other. I know and trust whoever wins it will be the best man for the job." Question: What's been the most encouraging thing about spring ball to date? Butt: "I can't really narrow it down to one thing. I think it's been a team effort. It hasn't been one guy, one position group, one unit. I think we've made huge strides, and we're playing faster. We have a new defensive coordinator, and the defense picked up on that real fast. "Offensively, it's been beneficial for us that for the first time since I've been Butt enters his final season in Ann Arbor with 92 career receptions, which have pro- duced 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN