Plankton
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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/11/02/nfl-draft-2017-tight-ends-jake-butt-oj-howard
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Early in the second quarter last Saturday, with No. 2 Michigan struggling in a 7-7 tie with underdog rival Michigan State, the Wolverines called an end-around for wideout Eddie McDoom. As McDoom curled around the right side of the line and gained steam, tight end Jake Butt turned back and erased a would-be tackler, paving a lane for McDoom to jet off for 33 yards. On the next play Butt shook free on a corner route, hauling in a 26-yard catch on the one-yard line.
“If you’re a tight end, I really can’t think of anywhere in the country where you’d rather be than playing for Michigan under Jim Harbaugh,” Butt says. “He sets you up for success here in college but also showcases exactly what NFL teams are looking for.”
For recency bias, Butt is correct. The college game’s crop of NFL-ready tight ends has been thin over the past few seasons. Only a few programs—including Stanford (Harbaugh’s program from 2007 to ’10), Notre Dame and now Michigan—utilize tight ends in ways similar to the pros. Scouts say evaluation of tight ends is perhaps more difficult than any other position, especially since the college tight end has undergone a massive makeover. In some spread offenses, tight ends are nearly obsolete as teams try to push four or five receivers on the field.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Early in the second quarter last Saturday, with No. 2 Michigan struggling in a 7-7 tie with underdog rival Michigan State, the Wolverines called an end-around for wideout Eddie McDoom. As McDoom curled around the right side of the line and gained steam, tight end Jake Butt turned back and erased a would-be tackler, paving a lane for McDoom to jet off for 33 yards. On the next play Butt shook free on a corner route, hauling in a 26-yard catch on the one-yard line.
“If you’re a tight end, I really can’t think of anywhere in the country where you’d rather be than playing for Michigan under Jim Harbaugh,” Butt says. “He sets you up for success here in college but also showcases exactly what NFL teams are looking for.”
For recency bias, Butt is correct. The college game’s crop of NFL-ready tight ends has been thin over the past few seasons. Only a few programs—including Stanford (Harbaugh’s program from 2007 to ’10), Notre Dame and now Michigan—utilize tight ends in ways similar to the pros. Scouts say evaluation of tight ends is perhaps more difficult than any other position, especially since the college tight end has undergone a massive makeover. In some spread offenses, tight ends are nearly obsolete as teams try to push four or five receivers on the field.
