The arrival of Jim Harbaugh’s tight end-friendly offense paid immediate dividends for Jake Butt in the opener.
Harbaugh’s better teams were defined by depth at the position, and redshirt freshman Ian Bunting emerged in the Oregon State game as a complement.
He caught two passes for 33 yards — second among tight ends to Butt’s four — and won over his coach with a 21-yard catch and run, breaking a tackle, then putting his head down and running through a defender for a first down.
The catch and run turned a first-and-18 from Oregon State’s 35-yard line to striking distance from the 14.