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Michigan Wolverine Recruiting: Ian Bunting 2014 Signed Profile

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  • Michigan Wolverine Recruiting: Ian Bunting 2014 Signed Profile

    Posted at 12:00pm — 3/16/2014

    GBMWolverine Message Board Readers: Here is a overview of University of Michigan recently signed commitment Ian Bunting.

    We like that he played basketball and think those skills help on the football field as well especially at a position such as tight end. He is a large 6’6 receiver with a big frame. His projected position in college is hybrid/split tight end, or eventually tight end. As such he already enlists versatility as a strength. He is listed at 220 pounds but looks a little bigger than the announced weight.

    Ian had a large offer list, including Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Mississippi, and Ohio State. This is just a partial list.

    Ian has several attributes that likely peeked Michigan’s interest. Perhaps foremost is the catching ability of Ian. His hands are huge and he catches the ball the way it should be caught. Ian seems pretty good in traffic. He should be a red-zone weapon. Defenses hate lining up in the red zone with two tight ends that can run good routes and catch. Add in a running back that must be honored and a premiere wide-out and the defense has a large task.

    Ian has work in several areas, but there is no alarm ringing to get him on the field ASAP.

    Ian Bunting
    Height: 6’7
    Weight: 223
    Birthday: February 10, 1996
    Number: 1
    Current Position: Wide Receiver / Flanker / Defensive End
    Future Position: Tight End
    City/State: Hinsdale, Illinois
    High School: Hinsdale Central
    Head Coach: Rich Tark
    Recruiter: Coach Dan Ferrigno and Jeff Hecklinski
    Official Visit: 12/13/2013
    Committed: 4/23/2013
    Top Offers: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, USC and Wisconsin.
    40-Time: 5.0
    20-yard shuttle: 4.44
    Vertical: 33.8″
    Power Throw” 41′
    SPARQ Rating: 101.07
    Class: 2014 Michigan Wolverine Recruiting Class (Signed).

    Follow Ian: on Twitter

    Coach Hoke on Bunting:


    “Ian’s a guy who has a lot of range. I like his upside as being a tight end on the line of scrimmage and also his ability to get down the field and catch the football.”

    Key Stats:


    Caught 27 passes for 583 yards and four touchdowns on offense and had 12 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and one fumble recovery on defense during career. Hauled in 10 receptions for 165 yards as a senior. Totaled 16 receptions for 412 yards and four touchdowns as a junior.

    Honors:


    Selected to attend Nike’s “The Opening.”

    Rankings:

    24/7:
    ESPN:
    Rivals:
    Scout:

    Note:
    Stars do matter, but are not absolute in predicting success within a football program. So, with that in mind the GBMWolverine Staff has cleverly come up with a new system of ranking. We are using footballs instead of stars, how can one argue against a system that clever? Below are the interpretations of football power predicted way too boldly long before it matters. In other words, we will give informed opinion with the crystal ball and let the players determine what will happen through years of hard work.

    Criteria:
    Raw talent, athleticism, position of need, intangibles.

    GBMWolverine Rankings:




    10 footballs: Instant impact player.
    9 footballs: Three or four-year starter at a high level.
    8 footballs: A starter with all league potential.
    7 footballs: A meaningful starter at some time during a career.

    6 footballs: A spot starter or special teams player.
    5 footballs: Not in the two deep after a two years.
    4 footballs: Never made it.
    1-3 footballs: See the above.

    We have him at 7 1/2 footballs.

    Side Note:
    Remember just as we did during the season with grading positions or groups we are very tough graders and expect a lot out of those positions or players so this is no different here.

    His Recruiting Story:

    “Well first of all, I am still happy with the decision and I’m glad that I made it and happy to be a Wolverine, obviously”. ‘The thing that kind of separated Michigan from everyone else is it just really felt like a family there, more so than anywhere else. I went down there and it felt like home. So, it was just comfortable overall. At other places there were things that I liked. But then there were also things that I didn’t like, that I tried to convince myself that I did like. But I didn’t have to do that at Michigan.”

    Bunting, who is rated a three-star prospect, had double digit offers and chose the Maize and Blue over Ohio State, Notre Dame and Oregon, to name a few. At 6-foot-6, 215-pounds, Bunting stars for Hinsdale South (Ill.) and is rated the No. 19 TE in the latest Scout.com player rankings.

    His Commitment Comments:

    Now that Bunting is a Wolverine, he says his main mission is to connect with current and possibly future commits.

    “ I am definitely reaching out to the guys who have already committed and to the guys who are kind of close to committing,” Bunting said. “And even the guys who have an offer and trying to get them to lean towards Michigan. You know, I realized we have a good class so far. And I think that will help attract a lot of talent. And it’s a great school and a great program. So, it kind of speaks for itself and I’m sure once the kids visit and really get to know coach (Brady Hoke) and the rest of the staff really well, they’ll see why it’s different than anywhere else.”

    Bunting said a big reason he committed to Michigan was being able to build a relationship with fellow U-M commits. “I’m just going to work on getting bigger, faster, stronger, running better routes and just building that bond between our team in high school,” Bunting said. “Cause you can have as much talent as you want, if you don’t play together it’s not going to happen.”

    Overview:

    Ian is a high school wide receiver/flanker who is destined to play tight end at the next level. He has as excellent length and long arms. Ian does not possess the speed or overall agility to play wide receiver, but has more than enough talent to make an excellent tight end. Ian has the frame to add the weight he needs to compete for playing time.

    Strengths:


    Ian is a very good athlete for a player his size. He has large, soft hands, and makes all the catches. Ian uses his length and long arms to make catches over shorter defenders. He runs decent routes and beats jams, despite being so long. His long strides allow him to cover lots of ground and makes him look slow, a trait that can work to his advantage.

    Concerns/Needs Work:


    Ian definitely will need to add plenty of size and muscle. He will also need to learn to get off the line of scrimmage against bigger, stronger defenders. His change of direction and acceleration will also need to improve. He is still growing into his large frame and natural maturity will be a big help.

    Red-shirt or play his Freshman Year?


    GBMWolverine believed he will definitely red-shirt his first year especially with the talent/depth Michigan has at this time (this was before Jake Butt injury) along with him being able to see Coach Wellman for another year will help him grow into a tight end body for college football.

    Will the injury to Jake Butt change all this though? Guess we will find out once fall practice starts and see how far along Jake is at that time. Rumors are swirling that he might be read for the third or fourth game this year.

    Ian Bunting reminds the GBMWolverine Staff of — Former Michigan Football Player — Tim Massaquoi — who played Tight End).

    Final Thoughts:

    Another very good player that the recruiting sites have mixed opinions on him, but the college coaches all seem to love especially with his offer list. He is the type of player that this coaching staff seems to favor (tall, can grown into the position, plays several sports in high school, play several positions such as flexing him out at receiver along with tight end) in which a match-up problem for defenses especially in the red-zone and in high school he played wide receiver like other Michigan commits.

    We welcome Ian Bunting to Michigan and hope he has a successful career on and off the football field as a student-athlete at the University of Michigan. Go Blue!

    Written by GBMWolverine Message Board Staff — CoachBT, Doc4Blu, ErocWolverine, and Skwdcop

    Go Blue — Wear Maize!


    Twitter: @ErocWolverine
    Message Board: GBMW Message Board
    Site: GBMW Front Page
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