Michigan is hoping for a bounce-back season for tight end Jake Butt. And the folks at the John Mackey Award think Butt might be primed for a really good campaign.
Butt was one of 33 players named to the John Mackey Award watch list Wednesday. The award is handed out annually to the best tight end in college football.
Butt had an impressive freshman year in 2013, starting eight games and catching 20 passes for 235 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Last season as a sophomore, he battled injury issues but still appeared in 10 games, catching 21 passes for 211 yards and two more touchdowns. He's expected to be quite the asset for new head coach Jim Harbaugh in the Wolverines' passing game this season.
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There were four more Big Ten tight ends named to the watch list Wednesday: Penn State's Kyle Carter, Iowa's Jake Duzey, Michigan State's Josiah Price and Ohio State's Nick Vannett.
The Big Ten did have a finalist for last year's Mackey Award in Minnesota's Maxx Williams, who was also the conference's Tight End of the Year. Williams was the No. 55 overall pick in this spring's NFL Draft, a second-round selection of the Baltimore Ravens.
Big Ten players won three of the first seven Mackey Awards handed out between 2000 and 2006. But that 2006 win — by Minnesota's Matt Spaeth — is the conference's most recent.