Before Saturday’s game turned into a disaster for the Michigan football team against Notre Dame, there was a surprise many thought could buoy the Wolverines’ chances. There was sophomore tight end Jake Butt warming up and dressed to play, a little more than six months after undergoing surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Butt was injured on Feb. 13 while doing extra work during winter conditioning. He ran a typical corner route, one he’s run hundreds of times, and knew the results were disastrous when he fell.
“I knew it right away though, once I went down,” Butt said. “Like ‘oh, man, I probably tore my ACL.’ ”
Butt said he made returning for the Fighting Irish his personal goal after his injury because his grandfather played for Notre Dame. And when he went under the knife on Feb. 27, Butt’s goal seemed like a medical improbability.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke estimated over the summer that his tight end would be back by the start of Big Ten play, which would’ve been surprising in itself. Butt attributed his early return to his extreme effort in rehab.
“I really think of myself as a hard worker, I went above and beyond whatever they did in treatment,” Butt said. “I would always do it on my own, whether it’s in my dorm room just coming back trying to make sure I got an edge on anyone else who’d had an ACL surgery before. I just wanted to put myself in the best position possible.”
While Butt knew he wanted to play Saturday, nothing was definite until warmups had ended.
“I felt pretty good the whole time, but it was up to game time where you kind of see how it felt when I was warming up to see if I would get any reps,” Butt said.
Even Butt’s doctor was surprised he was able to return to action so quickly after his injury. He told Butt his recovery was one of the fastest he’d seen and that Butt surpassed all of his expectations.
The hours spent in the training room paid off.
“I used to tell the trainers, I was like ‘I’m going to have to start paying rent,’ ” Butt said. “They would have to kick me out. I’d always be in here doing extra stuff.”
When they finally did make him leave, Butt frequently continued his workouts in his dorm room. Instead of making sure he was doing his workouts, the team’s trainers and his doctor monitored him to make sure he wasn’t doing too much.
He viewed his mental fortitude as key.
“You’ve got to set your goals high,” Butt said.
Still, he isn’t fully in the clear. Fifth-year senior linebacker Jake Ryan, who was covering Butt on the play when he was injured, suffered a similar diagnosis last year and has given Butt some tips for staying healthy.
One of the major pieces of advice has been how to properly celebrate. In one of his first practices back from injury, Butt jumped in the air and twisted to celebrate a touchdown reception, but was advised by Ryan and Hoke not to do it again because it is a common cause of ACL tears.
Butt wore a protective brace against the Fighting Irish but said he felt fine. Regardless of playing four snaps, he was just excited to be back.
Tuesday, Butt said the tentative plan before the game was to play more in the second half to avoid getting worn down early if he could play. But as the Wolverines faced a large deficit, coaches decided it wasn’t worth the injury risk.
Butt said Michigan’s coaches will decide how much he plays this weekend against Miami (Ohio), but, as always, he wants to play as much as possible.
No matter what the coaches decide, he can take solace in that he isn’t spending all of his time where most assumed he still would be: in the training room.