Signing Day Capsule: Austin Panter

Austin Panter is the first junior college player to become a Wolverine since the '97 National Championship season's WR Russell Shaw. Panter and Johnny Thompson will be expected to man the middle linebacker spot for the Wolverines in the fall. Will Panter be able to rise to the challenge?

Austin Panter
LB
Butler Community College Kensington High School
(Kensington, Kanas)
6-3/235/4.6
Star Ranking: ****

His Recruiting Story
Austin Panter is the first junior college player to become a Wolverine since the '97 National Championship season's WR Russell Shaw. Panter played 8-man football at tiny Kensington, Kansas and had no Division 1 offers out of high school. So he took the JC route, even though being a 4.0 student. At Butler Community College his play was stellar -- this past year, his sophomore season, he was named Junior College Defensive Player of the Year, recording 97 tackles and 13 tackles for loss. Meanwhile the Wolverines have lost David Harris - and had no highly ranked high school MLB likely to replace him. So once the regular season ended, in November, the Wolverines got on Panter hard. He visited U-M the December 1st weekend, got offered -- and committed on the spot!

GoBlueWolverine Commentary:
Panter graduated from Butler CC early and enrolled at Michigan this January. He will have "three seasons to play two" for the Wolverines .. but it can safely be assumed that Michigan would not have gone after a JC guy unless they were certain he'd be contributing, on the field, immediately. Butler is a prototypical MIKE linebacker: 6-feet-3, 235 pounds, runs a sub-4.6 second 40, and has a 350-pound bench press. Panter and Johnny Thompson will be expected to man the middle linebacker spot for the Wolverines in the fall. Will Panter be able to rise to the challenge? The Butler CC head coach told GBW that Panter was as good as, or better than, any player he has ever coached -- including several starters on Auburn, Nebraska, Arizona State and Florida State.