Michigan's Jake Butt was picked up by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.
About 10 years ago, a sixth-grade class listened to Greg Gillum, the director of player personnel and football operations at Ohio State, discuss his job in sports on career day. His speech inspired a student that had just finished his first year playing football to aim for a career as a professional athlete—you know this student as former Michigan tight end Jake Butt.
Butt posted an image of the letter he wrote to Gillum after this career day speech on Tuesday, explaining a family friend had returned this keepsake to him.
In the letter, he wrote, “Thanks for the tips on how you don’t just need to be good at sports but also at school.”
And, it must have stuck with him. Butt graduated from Michigan with a degree in sociology and was honored as an Academic All-Big Ten athlete, meaning he produced a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Still, the letter is especially sweet since Butt is now beginning his career as a professional football player with the Denver Broncos after they picked him up in the fifth round of the draft.
Right after the phone call. The path God has chosen for me, the call that'll allow me the chance to take the next step in my life @Broncos pic.twitter.com/QDON7D5xVx
— jbooty (@JakeButtTE) April 29, 2017
While he did tear his ACL in the Orange Bowl this past season, he still managed to put up 546 receiving yards and four touchdowns during his senior year and looks to make a big impact for Denver once his knee recovers.
