Per Jim Carty, Lloyd Carr is considering the return of Carson Butler to the Wolverines.
Butler was acquitted of assault charges in the St. Patrick’s Day incident (the other defendant, Chris Richards, was convicted). In light of his legal troubles being cleared, Carr has decided to rethink Butler’s expulsion from the football team.
This will definitely have an effect on the field for Michigan this year, as Butler will be a second option with experience at the TE position to Mike Massey’s perpetually-injured shell of a body. This would allow for both incoming freshmen to likely redshirt.
However, there is a potential negative effect on recruiting, as Michigan recruited two top tight ends to make up for their dearth of bodies at the position. While a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, both Brandon Moore and Kevin Koger are phenomenal athletes, and it would be a shame to lose either of them.
Posted under Personnel, Recruiting
Tags: (ex) personnel, Football, personnel, Recruiting
If Carr thinks Butler has his head on straight and is in shape to contribute to the team, there’s no reason for a fan not to want him back at TE – a very thin position (w/o him) going into fall.
Signing day is a long way off. No guarantee both Moore and Koger sign with UM. No guarantee either see early action next year with (at least) 4-5 TEs with practice/game experience ahead of them on the depth chart (Butler, Massey, McLaurin, Watson & Webb).
Koger also plays DE in high school, and with a 6’4″+ frame and good speed and athleticism, I wouldn’t rule out a switch to DE. Would be a nice addition to the DL, which lost Branch, Woodley, Germany and McKinney since last season.