A historic day has stretched into a historic weekend.
Four-star Ohio tight end prospect Jake Butt decided on Sunday evening to become the 10th member of the Michigan football team's 2013 recruiting class, an announcement that comes on the heels of the Wolverines' six verbal commitments Saturday — a modern single-day record for the program.
"Officially a wolverine!!! #goblue," Butt tweeted.
The Pickerington, Ohio, native was on campus Saturday for a visit with about 10 other elite junior prospects. He visited ESPN's "College GameDay" set in the morning at Crisler Center, then took in the Wolverines' basketball game against Ohio State that night.
Five recruits committed in that span, and a sixth, Chris Fox, joined them from his home in Colorado. Butt, though, elected to return home to Ohio to mull over his decision with his parents.
It didn't take him long.
Butt's pledge is Michigan's seventh in a two-day span, one of the most impressive recruiting hauls in school history. It's not so uncommon at some power programs, where it's more common to hold junior day-type events. Texas is a classic example of this strategy.
However, this many commitments on a single weekend is mostly unheard of in the Big Ten, and has never been approached at Michigan since that data began being kept in 2003.
The Wolverines have 10 commitments for 2013. They have room for approximately 18 players in the class, which means they are more than half completed for this cycle with more than 11 months remaining until signing day.
The next-closest team in the Big Ten is Ohio State at four. Michigan State, the Wolverines' biggest rival for in-state talent, has two.
Last year at this time, Michigan had no commitments.
The Wolverines have been going after quality players, too, as nine of the 10 commits are ranked among Rivals' Top 200. Alabama's top-ranked 2012 class, for comparison, finished with 14.
Butt, a four-star tight end who is ranked by Rivals as the country's No. 96 prospect, fills one of Michigan's more pressing needs in this class. Detroit tight end prospect Khalid Hill also has committed for 2013, but projects to play more of a fullback-type role.
Butt held offers from seven Big Ten schools and much of the MAC, as well as national recruiters such as Stanford, Tennessee and UCLA.
He is a lifelong Ohio State fan, but did not hold an offer from the Buckeyes.
Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.
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