Jake Butt Tears ACL
[Fuller]
Per UM's Twitter:
Jake Butt Out Indefinitely with Torn ACL: http://t.co/p2yRL0eLOZ
— Michigan Football (@umichfootball) February 13, 2014
Butt was Michigan's best option to be a catchy-blocky tight end so this is Not Good.
I wouldn't automatically count him as a redshirt; recovery from ACL tears these days is really fast, though not guaranteed to be. FWIW Jake Ryan tore his on March 20 last year and made it back in late October. If Butt can recover at Ryan speed he'll be back for the conference games.
Either way the intervening months were going to be especially important for Butt to get comfortable in the offense and gain the requisite weight to get beyond the largely Just a Receiver™ role he played last year. Likelihood of Ian Bunting's shirt being burned just shot through the stratosphere, since extant options are A.J. Williams and Khalil Hill.
Silver lining: MORfleet? Fortunately Nussmeier seems to be much less reliant on TEs, going 3- and 4-wide quite often at Washington, so this can be mitigated somewhat by more slot receiver sets.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:38 AM ^
but I have confidence that he will recover quickly and see the field come Fall...and yeah, hopefully we see a lot more Norfleet!!!!
February 13th, 2014 at 10:41 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^
mgodoctors: does the nature of the tear dictate the recovery time? if so, what if anything do we know about this tear?
February 13th, 2014 at 11:04 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 11:13 AM ^
so it seems like we need further informatino re: whether there were other tears?
February 13th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^
This is a giant dancing Turd Sandwich.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:45 AM ^
for fuck's sake
February 13th, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^
What about Shallman? I know they told him he'd be a RB, but hasn't there been an assumption all along that he'd eventually move to a TE-like role?
February 13th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^
Yes there has, he will now possibly H-back/te know and we still have Hill who redshirted we also have Williams and another 5th year sr who's name I can't think of.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 11:12 AM ^
I left Paskorz out on purpose since I didn't think he was much of an option.
February 13th, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 10:59 AM ^
I think you're thinking of Paskorz. I've heard his name a lot, but I don't remember ever seeing him play. Plus, there's always Funchess, who I know was better off playing WR than TE, but is at least TE sized.
Losing Butt definitely hurts, as he was already looking the part of the pass-catching/blocking dual-threat TE, but there are at least bodies to take his place. Which hasn't always been the case with recent injuries.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^
At this point I'd almost rather he redshirt. Use Hill, Houma and Shallman as H-backs to mitigate his loss for the season along with MOARFleet in the slot.
Let him recover, gain weight and watch film. Use bowl practices as a way to test the ACL live and then bring him back in '15 as the blocky-catchy destroyer of worlds. I think it's a better way forward than to bring him back at only half strength for half a season.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:52 AM ^
I agree. Don't rush him back and use what you got, you dont need them to be Jake Butt you need them to be good blockers and decent in the pass game.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 11:02 AM ^
I don't know that it is a "key position." There are plenty of ways to run an offense with limited contributions from the TE position, and there are plenty of bodies who can take Butt's place. As theguy49503 points out earlier in the thread, you don't need them to be world beaters. Just decent.
February 13th, 2014 at 10:59 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 11:06 AM ^
Human bodies were not meant to be as large and fast as they now are while doing the things football demands. Knee injuries are here to stay.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^
Agree re: human bodies, but training definitely has to do with it too. How many torn ACLs have we seen in the offseason since the S&C coach changed? I'd be interested to see if M's numbers are in line with those of other D1 school.
Also, this article suggests that S&C can have a lot to do with knee injuries and coming back from them:
http://zigsports.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/greg-oden-brandon-roy-what-what-happened/
February 13th, 2014 at 11:04 AM ^
I have simply seen no evidence to suggest that "more Norfleet" will in any way mitigate "less Butt."
February 13th, 2014 at 11:08 AM ^
Take what time is needed. As I read elsewhere, I think it may alter the type of sets Nuss runs. The downside is that some of the recruits are looking to see what type of Michigan Nuss runs. If they get away from using the tight ends, it may have an impact on their decisions. I'm hoping Bunting does come through as he will be 1) another freshman playing and 2) maybe the best at showing what Nuss intends to do going forward.
I assume Funchess will also play more tight end which has been Hoke's intention anyway.
February 13th, 2014 at 11:08 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^
"Onset Pipkins" is a disease I hope this team suffers through all season!
February 13th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
Jake Butt had a great freshman year and was poised to have a huge sophomore campaign. This is a big loss.
I wish Jake a speedy and healthy recovery, and look forward to his return. He's going to be a great player for Michigan.
February 13th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
Crap dammit.
February 13th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ^
I was looking forward to seeing his development. Hoping for a quick and complete recovery.
February 13th, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
...lift the curse of Bo, kthxbai.
Here's our football program since his death:
February 13th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
beat heisman trophy winning tim tebow and florida, won sugar bowl, have had highly ranked recruiting classes last 3 years....
but yeah totally cursed
February 13th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
won 0 big ten titles
something like a 61-48 win loss record but you be happy about what you want i guess.
February 13th, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^
With Bo around (1990 - 1st 11 games of 2006):
157-47-3 (76.6%), 105-28-2 B1G (78.5%), 8 B1G titles (in 16 seasons), 7 BCS-level bowl games, 9 bowl wins
After Bo's death (last 2 games of 2006 season - present):
50-41 (54.9%), 27-30 B1G (47.4%), 0 B1G titles (in 7 seasons), 1 BCS bowl, 2 bowl wins
Subtracting out Rodriguez for the haters:
35-19 (64.8%), 21-12 B1G (63.6%), 0 B1G titles (in 4 seasons), 1 BCS bowl, 2 bowl wins
Now, I don't believe in curses and was joking in my post above, but you must admit the "before/after" data is striking.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
This GIF is quite appropriate as many ACL tears occur with improper landing techniques while one jumps up, etc. This is particularly seen in women's basketball and volleyball.
February 13th, 2014 at 1:28 PM ^
Plus 1 to you sir
February 14th, 2014 at 11:00 PM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 12:02 PM ^
Now you guys see why Rich was all about those extra 20 minutes of stretching.
Seriosly tho mandatory Yoga classes for all football players starting yesterday.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
Michigan's average with ACL injuries happening to critical players during Hoke's tenure....
Jake Ryan
Russell Bellomy
Jake Butt
.....yep, we're batting about 1.000....fuck.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:30 PM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^
Why, AMTEHG, why???
Wishing Jake a swift and full recovery.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^
Khalid Hill. Khalil is the younger brother who plays corner that we didn't recruit.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:43 PM ^
All those Purdue and Percy the ACLephant jokes are really starting to come back to bite us in the ACL.
February 13th, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^
February 13th, 2014 at 1:23 PM ^
We can't have nice things because we break them with ACL injuries.
But seriously, this news does suck. All ACL injuries are different, but just using pure conjecture here, let's say Butt takes another month longer than Ryan to recover. This would basically set up a similar timeframe like Ryan from last year, where Butt could in theory start playing the first game after the Bye Week on Oct. 18th, which would be the Oct. 25th game @ Michigan State. And that's a moderate projection. Wildily optimistic is Ryan schedule, which brings him back before conference play. Anything more pessimistic and you're probably looking at just the final two games of the season. And it seems to me Ryan was not at 100% for the first few games anyway.
As bad as this news is though, I don't think it's nearly as terrible as the Jake Ryan injury. Ryan was a veteran player and a pivotal part of our defense. Butt is a young guy with huge upside potential, but is only a utility player. This is not an All-Conference center or our starting QB that went down here. Plus, as others have said, it's possible the new offensive scheme might involve more slot receivers and fewer tight end plays anyway.
For those reasons, I'm inclined to go with red shirt unless there are extenuating circumstances. If the drop-off in TE production is truly awlful, if the TE usage is just as high as it was last year, if we are in the midst of a serious run at the Big Ten Championship and his depth could add significantly to to that run, then under some of those scenarios I could see burning his eligibility.
But if playing Butt next year means just a marginal additional risk of going 9-3 instead of 8-4, then I'd be inclined to have him to take the injury red shirt, lift weights like a madman, fully digest the playbook, and become a monster in 2015.
February 13th, 2014 at 1:31 PM ^
So instead I will just leave everyone with this:
February 13th, 2014 at 1:35 PM ^
As someone also status-post ACL reconstruction (with medial meniscus tear), I feel for all the Jakes and other Wolverine ACLs. The rehab takes time, it is learning to trust your knee again after the repair that is the real challenge. Get well soon!
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