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Former Michigan tight end Jake Butt weighs in on the Big Ten adding USC, UCLA

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz07/08/22NickSchultz_7
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(Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The opinions keep rolling in about the latest conference realignment windfall as USC and UCLA join the Big Ten in 2024. Former Michigan tight end Jake Butt needed two words to sum up his excitement.

“Hell yeah,” Butt said.

Butt, now a Big Ten radio analyst, discussed what it’ll mean to have USC and UCLA in the Big Ten. He said the quality of games will go up, which could drive viewership.

“We’re going to see seven Rose Bowls every single Saturday,” Butt said on SiriusXM College. “Every Saturday’s going to [have] premier matchups. Every game’s going to count. … No offense to anyone out there, but you’re going to play hard. It’s the game of football. But going to Oregon State and playing them? It’s a game. It’s fun.

“But going to Columbus on a 7:30 p.m. kickoff when it’s a top-10 matchup? That’s the most fun games. Those are the most fun weeks of practices. You know you’re going to have millions of people watching you. You get to play on the big stage where everybody’s tuned in.”

Jake Butt on worries about long flights: ‘Coach Harbaugh used to call it … Freddy P. Soft’

Butt also addressed worries about longer flights. After all, Piscataway to Los Angeles is quite a haul. He brought up something Jim Harbaugh used to talk about at Michigan — a little person called “Freddy P. Soft.”

“Anyone talking about, ‘Oh, there’s going to be a flight difference.’ Coach Harbaugh used to call it, his name is Freddy P. Soft,” Butt said. “He sits on your shoulder and he whispers in your ear, he says, ‘Oh, you’ve done enough work. You don’t need it. Why don’t you stay in bed a little bit later this morning?’ That’s Freddy P. Soft talking.

“We’re football players. Yeah, we’re going to hop on the plane, we’re going to go to a massive, hostile environment on the road and play in a premier matchup. Players love it, I don’t know if coaches love it because they have win bonuses and now, things got a little bit stickier. But fans should love it. I want to watch those levels of matchups every single Saturday all fall. That’s what I watch all Sunday.”