Jake Butt takes his official

Pickerington (Ohio) North tight end Jake Butt has known for a long time where he'll be attending college, and the 6-6, 250-pounder was on campus in Ann Arbor over the weekend. He took his official visit to Michigan along with almost all of U-M's other 2013 commits (only three - including unofficial visitor Delano Hill - did not take officials last weekend). He got to see just about everything there is to see in town.

"We got to go to practice, we got to get out there on the field," he listed. "I got to spend some time with Coach Ferrigno my position coach and some of the other coaches as well. Getting to see practice was definitely cool. This was my first time my brothers have been up here, so they had a great time too. I was glad they got to see that. They had great meals waiting for us, and getting to talk with the players was cool."

Although he lives in the shadows of Columbus - home to an NHL franchise in the Blue Jackets - Butt had never been to an hockey game before in his life. That changed Saturday evening when the recruits attended Michigan's 2-0 victory over Western Michigan.

"We went to a hockey game [Saturday] night, and I've never been to a hockey game, so that was pretty cool. I loved it. It was a hyped environment in there, too. Michigan hockey is the real deal. Checking them into the boards, doing all that, I loved it."

Butt is one of five committed players whose Michigan careers begin in less than a month. After the U.S Army All-American Bowl Jan. 5, he will move up to Ann Arbor and enroll early. He will be rooming with a familiar face - fellow Pickerington native Taco Charlton.

"Since I'm going to be an early grad, we had to go up there - me and the other five guys - we came up there a few hours before the other guys on Friday. They did this little presentation to tell us what was going on. Other than that, we all had the same schedule.

"I'll be rooming with Taco, we got to bond a little bit, but our hosts weren't like really hanging out together," he explained. "For the most part we were trying to enjoy ourselves and not worry about that. Taco's a cool guy, I'm not worried about [compatibility] at all."

Butt's host, redshirt freshman center Jack Miller, made sure the four-star tight end enjoyed himself on campus. Hanging with a lot of the Michigan offensive linemen also gave Butt the opportunity to interact with another recruit - and an uncommitted one.

"Being around linemen all the time, it's crazy," Butt said with a chuckle. "They're all funny, and they're some big characters, but it was definitely a good time.

"Actually, I talked to Skip [Arvada (Colo.) Ralston Valley three-star Dan Skipper] a lot," he continued. "He and I, we actually became pretty good friends this weekend. I liked hanging out with that guy, he's a pretty cool dude. He's definitely a great player, too, and I'd love to have him."

Butt is less than two weeks removed from the beginning of his U.S. Army All-American experience, and three weeks away from beginning his Michigan career. If every week in Ann Arbor is like the one he just experienced, it's safe to say he'll enjoy his four years as a Wolverine.

"Honestly, this was like the best weekend of my life," he raved. "To get to chill with everybody and all the things we got to do this weekend, it was a great time."