The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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56 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW QUARTERBACKS BY JOHN BORTON M ichigan's harshest critics a year ago insisted the Wolverines would be lucky to win six games, in large part because they didn't have a quarterback. By the time Florida's Gators were fully converted into handbags and shoes on Jan. 1, Jim Harbaugh's first Michigan team sported 10 wins, behind a quarterback who'd connected at a 64-percent clip and thrown for more than 3,000 yards. Harbaugh then predicted graduate-transfer signal-caller Jake Rudock would get drafted into the NFL — and he did. It's fair to say skeptics are a little more wary of overdoing it this time around. It's also fair to say Michigan's present crew of QBs has plenty to prove. Harbaugh himself pointed out that reality. A week before Michigan's spring game, Harbaugh noted his quar- terbacks continued committing errors that have to be minimized in the weeks and months to come. "We're looking for a quarterback to move the team and not make the big mistake," he said. "They're all in the mode of a big mistake a day. "We'll keep plugging away and keep getting better. Keep giving them things that they can improve on." Now, they're plugging through the months leading up to training camp in August. The head coach insisted he'll get a good sense of who has progressed the most through the summer upon scrutinizing them in the early days of that camp. He wouldn't distinguish between those he said had separated themselves as contenders for the starting job — redshirt juniors John O'Korn and Shane Morris, along with redshirt sophomore Wilton Speight. Instead, Harbaugh insisted he'd wait and see how they looked once the summer had passed, giving them all high incentive to keep pushing. Regardless of who wins the job, Rudock set a strong standard in the first season of the Harbaugh era. Harbaugh and quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch, meanwhile, underscored the fact that they know a thing or two about coaching up the men under center. "One year ago, Jake Rudock had zero Harbaugh influence," noted Doug Karsch, sideline reporter for Michigan's radio broadcasts. "None. He gets to campus, and by the end of being with Harbaugh for four months, he is an efficient, dangerous, very good passer in the Big Ten. "Speight and O'Korn will have triple that Harbaugh influence by the time one of them takes their first snap as the starter this fall. Think of what he did with Rudock in a short timeframe, applied to a longer timeframe, maybe with some kids who have greater physical talent. It's hard not to think of where it's going to go and where it could go after they start getting game action." Karsch concedes that Rudock came in with more game experience than either O'Korn or Speight enter this season. At the same time, he noted, the longer they are under the shaping hand of this coaching staff, the better their long-term chances of success. "Did Speight get a lot better under Harbaugh?" Karsch mused. "Yes, as evidenced by the end of that Minnesota game. People Next MaN Up Michigan's Options Under Center Get Training And Weapons Redshirt junior John O'Korn has the most experience of those involved in the QB competition, having played in 20 contests at Houston before transferring to U-M. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL