The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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another O'Korn to Morris hookup, covering 25 yards. Harbaugh didn't talk to reporters afterwards, but he didn't need to do so. The product was on display, even in a dialed down mode. The quarterbacks were live and could be hit, but nobody was look- ing to put anyone out of commission. Senior running back De'Veon Smith stayed circumspectly out of the action, after getting nicked up a bit over the course of the spring. And the Wolverines themselves came out of spring anxious to live up to ever-increasing expectations. That starts with the defense, which finished the spring game planting a stake — or in this case, a steak knife — in the ground. "Our defense is a Michigan de- fense," Peppers said. "We're tenacious, we're going to hit you, we're going to get after the quarterback and we're go- ing to get the ball. "The main thing is the experience the guys have. We've been out there in tough situations. We've been out there in tough games. We know how to handle ourselves a bit differently. When the heat is on, we're not pan- icking. We're not nervous. We're like, come on, we've been here before. Let's do it. It's nothing new." ❏ N ot everyone highlighted in the spring game will necessarily be on full display in the fall. Also, some notable missing personnel, such as se- nior running back De'Veon Smith, will take a prominent role when August gives way to September. Here, though, are 10 performers that stood out under the lights. 1. Quarterback Wilton Speight — Speight guided the winners to both of their touchdowns, throwing for one and running for the other. He looked very sharp on short throws, completing five of six passes for 46 yards, includ- ing the 13-yard TD toss to Butt. Spei- ght also demonstrated the ability to move a bit, rushing for 19 yards on two carries, including the one-yard touch- down dive. While some were conceding the quar- terback job to O'Korn heading into spring practice, they didn't include Har- baugh, and it's obvious the competition will continue on into the fall. 2. Quarterback John O'Korn — O'Korn also led a pair of touchdown drives and clearly is another top con- tender for the job of leading the Wol- verines come fall. The transfer from Houston did much of the quarterback- ing for the Blue, which out-gained the Maize team in the spring game, 250- 186 yards. O'Korn's percentage wasn't as good as Speight's, the former connecting on six of 14 passes on the night. He throws a better deep ball, though, and hit on some big ones, including the clutch 25-yarder to Morris. He's also the best runner among the quarter- backs, scrambling for what could have Ten Best Players Of Michigan's Spring Game