Jake Butt was already named the best tight end in the Big Ten. Now he's the best tight end in the country.
The Michigan senior was honored with the John Mackey Award on Wednesday. The award is presented annually to the top tight end in college football.
"It's a great honor first and foremost, especially for this team," Butt said in the announcement. "One thing coach (Jim) Harbaugh says, 'A rising tide raises all ships.' So it's great to win this award. I want to thank the guys in this group. This is our award, really it's not a one-man award. I really thank everyone on this team, this coaching staff, my position coach Jay Harbaugh, my family and everyone that's helped me achieve this great award. I'm really appreciative of that."
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Butt caught 43 passes this season for 508 yards and four touchdowns, and he still has Michigan's clash with Florida State in the Orange Bowl to add to those numbers.
He is Michigan's all-time leader in receptions and yardage by a tight end with 135 career catches for 1,618 yards. And his 11 career touchdowns rank second on the program's all-time tight end list.
The Mackey Award adds to Butt's hardware collection for this season. Last week, he was named the Big Ten Tight End of the Year for the second straight year.
Butt is the first Wolverine to win the Mackey Award. He's the first Big Ten player to win the award since Minnesota's Matt Spaeth in 2006 and fourth all time, joining Spaeth, Iowa's Dallas Clark (2002) and Purdue's Tim Stratton (2000).