Big Ten Media Days kicked off in Chicago Monday afternoon. Coaches gave their annual pep talks at the podium before players made their appearances.
Michigan sent cornerback Jourdan Lewis, wide receiver Amara Darboh, and tight end Jake Butt as athlete emissaries.
Earlier in the day, head coach Jim Harbaugh said his senior tight end can "rattle somebody's fillings" and that he "enjoys the struggle of football."
Butt hails from Pickerington, Ohio, where he starred for Pickerington North. He played with Ohio State center Pat Elflein and became a four-star 2013 tight end prospect.
Monday, he explained how an Ohio State fan from a Columbus suburb ended up playing for the Blue and Amarillo.
"I went to the Michigan-Ohio State game," Butt told assembled reporters. "I knew Michigan was the place for me because for the first time in my life I found myself rooting for Michigan against Ohio State. They won that game and I started to figure out right there, this was the place for me."
Butt is referring to an unofficial visit that occurred November 26th, 2011. Michigan beat Ohio State 40-34 on that day and officially offered Butt three days later. He committed to Brady Hoke's Michigan in February 2012.
Butt didn't forsake his Buckeye fandom forever, however. He took up the Scarlet and Gray in November 2015, when he temporarily became an Ohio State fan ahead of the Buckeyes' critical home game against Michigan State—a game OSU lost as well.
Since he joined Michigan, the Wolverines are 0-3 against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State, for the record, signed four-star tight end Marcus Baugh in 2013, who committed to Ohio State in April 2012 as the composite No. 4 tight end in the class.
