The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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One new Wolverine will undoubt- edly insist that spring doesn't end the battle at QB. Incoming freshman Zach Gentry, a 6-7, 230-pound im- port out of New Mexico, arrives in the summer. He'll go through all the player-led workouts, learn the sys- tem and prepare to go full-bore in fall camp. Gentry might not be the only late entry in the QB sweepstakes. Jake Rudock, a two-year starter at Iowa, is transferring somewhere and will visit Michigan the week of March 16, multiple sources have reported. Rudock completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 4,819 yards and 34 touch- downs over the past two years. The veteran QB, who posted 16 touch- downs passes to five interceptions last season, would be immediately eligible to play. It could be mid-August before Har- baugh and his staff begins to solidify a starter for the 2015 campaign. Then it's all about continuing to prove it on the field. Earning the starting job will in- volve both inspiring and leading teammates, Rogan pointed out. It's been his experience that Harbaugh quarterbacks have the ability to make the whole better than the sum of the parts. "The thing that drives Coach Har- baugh, the heart of who he is, is that competitiveness, and he makes sure that every position group on the team has that, but it's a little bit dif- ferent for the quarterbacks because of his history," Rogan said. "He is going to put those guys in situations that would make a normal man splinter. You have two options, you can either give up or you can persevere. "You look at the quarterbacks that have been really successful for him and those are the guys that refused to give up. He loves those kind of guys, and he wins with those kinds of guys." ❏ Wilton Speight did not see game action last fall, but the 6-6, 235-pound signal-caller could be poised to step into the lineup with a strong showing this spring. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN