The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 83 TIGHT ENDS PLAYER BIOS POSITION COACH Jay Harbaugh, in his first season with the Wolverines, is entering his first year as a position coach, but he's been around football his entire life. His dad, Jim, is Michigan's head coach, and his uncle, John, is in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens. Harbaugh spent the last three seasons under his uncle's tutelage, including the 2014 season as an of- fensive quality control coach focusing on statistical analysis, self-scouting reports and breakdowns of opposing defenses. He was also part of the coaching staff that won Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, beating his father's San Francisco 49ers team. Harbaugh spent four seasons as an undergraduate as- sistant at Oregon State under head coach Mike Riley, per- forming a number of duties for the Beavers during his time in Corvallis. The Beavers played in two bowl games during Harbaugh's tenure (2008-11), including a win in the 2008 Sun Bowl. He also interned for the San Francisco 49ers in the scouting department during the summer of 2011. A native of San Diego, Harbaugh holds a bachelor's de- gree in sociology from Oregon State University. RETURNING PLAYERS IAN BUNTING • TE R-Fr. • Hinsdale, Ill. Ht.: 6-7 • Wt.: 243 Career Highlights: Redshirted in 2014. Prep: Attended Hinsdale Central High School … Caught 27 passes for 583 yards and four touchdowns in his career ... Hauled in 10 receptions for 165 yards as a senior and earned an invitation to the prestigious Nike event "The Opening" in Oregon … Rivals.com four-star prospect, No. 9 tight end nationally and No. 15 player in Illinois. Personal: Born Feb. 10, 1996 … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. JAKE BUTT • TE Jr. • Pickerington, Ohio Ht.: 6-6 • Wt.: 248 C a r e e r H i g h l i g h t s : R e t u r n e d quickly from a knee injury suffered in spring 2014 and played in 10 games, making five starts … Caught 21 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, including four receptions for 25 yards and a touchdown at Ohio State … Made ESPN.com All-Big Ten Freshman Team in 2013 after starting eight of 13 games and notch- ing 20 receptions for 235 yards and two touchdowns … Recorded five catches for 85 yards and one touchdown in a 42-41 loss to OSU. Prep: Attended Pickerington North High School … Three- year varsity letterman in football … Caught 96 passes for 1,361 yards and 20 touchdowns on offense, and had 142 tackles, 39.5 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks on defense dur- ing his career … Named AP Division I All-Ohio first-team as a senior and made the U.S. Army All-America Game roster … Rivals.com four-star prospect, No. 5 tight end and No. 144 player overall nationally, and No. 8 player in Ohio. Personal: Born July 11, 1995 … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. KHALID HILL • TE R-So. • Detroit Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 252 Career Highlights: Caught four passes for 37 yards in his redshirt freshman year … Started four of the six games in which he appeared last season before going down with a season-ending ACL injury in October. Prep: Attended Crockett Tech High School … Was named to the U.S. Under-19 National Team as a senior … Rivals.com No. 32 tight end nationally and No. 21 player in Michigan. Personal: Born Khalid Rashard Hill on June 4, 1995 … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. MICHAEL JOCZ • TE R-Jr. • Novi, Mich. Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 231 Career Highlights: Has played in five career games … Academic All-Big Ten and earned a varsity letter in 2014 after appearing in four games. Prep: Attended Novi High School … Member of the National Honor Society … Earned all- conference at wide receiver as a senior. Personal: Born Michael Steven Jocz on Jan. 9, 1994 … Enrolled in the College of Engineering, majoring in Me- chanical Engineering. A.J. WILLIAMS • TE Sr. • Cincinnati Ht.: 6-6 • Wt.: 285 Career Highlights: Has appeared in 36 games in three years, starting 11 … Has caught five passes for 35 yards and a touchdown. Prep: Attended Sycamore High School … Did not catch a pass as a senior, serving as a blocker on the line and helping Sycamore average 297.8 rushing yards per game … Rivals.com No. 22 tight end nationally and No. 26 player in Ohio. Personal: Born March 23, 1994 … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, majoring in Political Science. CHASE WINOVICH • TE R-Fr. • Jefferson Hills, Pa. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 230 Career Highlights: Moved from linebacker to tight end in spring 2015 … Did not see game action in 2014. Prep: Attended Thomas Jefferson High School ... Played linebacker and quarterback ... Notched 149 tackles, 22.0 sacks, seven fumble recoveries and one interception on defense, and carried the ball 119 times for 1,031 yards and 17 touch- downs on offense during his career … Participated in the 2014 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl … Rivals.com No. 18 outside linebacker nationally and No. 6 player in Pennsylvania. Personal: Born April 19, 1995 … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. NEWCOMER TYRONE WHEATLEY JR. • TE Fr. • Buffalo, N.Y. Ht.: 6-6 • Wt.: 260 Prep: Played at Canisius High School coached by Rich Robbins ... Hauled in 27 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns ... Rivals.com four-star prospect, the No. 13 tight end nationally and the No. 1 prospect in New York. Personal: Born February 4, 1997 … Son of former U-M running back and current running backs coach of the same name. ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year Elig. Hometown (High School) 94 Ian Bunting TE 6-7 243 So. Fr. Hinsdale, Ill. (Central) 88 Jake Butt TE 6-6 248 Jr. Jr. Pickerington, Ohio (North) 80 Khalid Hill TE 6-2 252 Jr. So. Detroit (East English Village Prep) 95 Michael Jocz TE 6-4 231 Sr. Jr. Novi, Mich. (Novi) 84 A.J. Williams TE 6-6 285 Sr. Sr. Cincinnati (Sycamore) 44 Chase Winovich TE 6-3 230 So. Fr. Jefferson Hills, Pa. (Thomas Jefferson) — Tyrone Wheatley Jr. TE 6-6 260 Fr. Fr. Buffalo (Canisius) Junior tight end Jake Butt has made a total of eight starts and 41 catches for 446 yards and four touchdowns in the fi rst two seasons of his U-M career. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL