The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2016 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS a collection of materials for Michi- gan's Bentley Historical Library. "It's going to be an objective film about Bob Ufer, but made with a lot of support from the Ufer family," Chace said. "I'm getting photos from the Bentley Library and the Ufer fam- ily. The Bentley is interested in creat- ing a whole collection devoted to Bob Ufer. "That was something I promised to the family when I got into this. I am going to leave them an assembled archive. They'll get a hard drive that has all of the articles, all the photos, things they haven't seen before. "They're showing me stuff that I haven't seen, but I'm going to bring them stuff they haven't seen. All of this is going to be sculpted into what I hope will be the definitive film on Bob Ufer and maybe one of the best Michigan football films ever made." Enthusiasm unknown to mankind? Ufer lived it, before Harbaugh coined the phrase. "Canham's hiring was influenced by Ufer," Chace said. "It appears that Schembechler's hiring had Bob Ufer's touch on it as well. When you combine all of this, you start to see Bob Ufer as kind of a godfather or patron saint, the spirit of Michigan football that really got enflamed when Bo got on board. "Bob really had something to get worked up about. And Jim Harbaugh was influenced by that." In the end, Chace noted, it's about much more than a football broad- caster. "It is about Michigan football and enthusiasm, generally," Chace said. "His life is a metaphor for how you can choose to live life — full of en- thusiasm, full of energy, with a posi- tive outlook." — John Borton Through three games, redshirt sopho- more Wilton Speight has led the Wol- verines to three victories and a No. 4 ranking in the Associated Press poll while putting up very solid numbers individually. After the Colorado game, the Richmond, Va., native was 51-of- 80 passing (63.8 percent) for 686 yards with eight touchdowns and just one interception. Get to know Michigan's signal-caller: Nickname: "Wilt the Stilt, Wilty, my mom's side of the family calls me Toni which comes from Wiltoni Balboni. My grandpa called me that when I was little and I kind of ran with it." Favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor: "The Black Pearl. There's no doubt that the fish tacos at Black Pearl are the best meal in Ann Arbor and I stand by that. I love everyone in there." Best meal he can cook by himself: "My mom bought me a wok this off- season and I can make a honey-sriracha chicken with some sesame seed rice and snow peas. I'm a big fan of that." Sports he plays besides football: "I love playing golf. Back in high school I played lacrosse and basketball, but now it's pretty much just golf when I'm not playing football." Hobbies: "Golf is honestly a huge thing I do to unwind. I love going out to play with friends or family. I like watch- ing Netflix and stuff, too." Favorite TV show: "Right now I'm really into 'Narcos,' but my all-time [fa- vorite] is probably 'The Office.' I think I've watched the seasons three or four times through and it always makes me happy." Favorite movie: "It depends on my mood, but all time I'd probably have to say 'Step Brothers.'" Dream vacation: "I'd love to either go to the islands in Greece or to the Maldives." Favorite non-Michigan Stadium sports venue he's been to: "I've been to some pretty cool ones, but I'll say Fenway Park. I've been to a couple games there and it's just so historic." Favorite professional athlete: "Philip Rivers. I grew up going to all of the NC State games and I liter- ally watched every single one of his games. I kind of worshiped him as a kid and I really respect the way he plays now for the Chargers. He's had an unbelievable career." Role model: "Bobby Speight, my dad. Both of my parents really, but my dad and I are so similar. I want to pretty much emulate everything that he does from being a dad and family man to how he goes about his busi- ness." Why he chose football over other sports: "I really liked lacrosse and had a chance to play that in college, too, but I knew that I wanted to make a living off of a sport and I think football was my best opportunity to do that. I want to play in the NFL and I still have those goals, so that's why I chose that." What he hopes to do after foot- ball at Michigan if not the NFL: "Be- ing a commentator would be really cool. You see guys like Desmond How- ard and Kirk Herbstreit doing it, and it seems like a great job. If I were to completely step away from football, I'd probably go into sales with our family company. You get to take people out on the golf course and talk business with them and stuff. That would be really cool, too." His overall U-M experience: "Being at Michigan has been unbelievable. Being able to attend such a prestigious university is an opportunity that not many people get to feel. From a foot- ball standpoint, it's second to none." — Brandon Brown After three games, Speight ranked second in the Big Ten with eight passing touch- downs and fourth with a pass efficiency rating of 166.3. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Getting To Know Redshirt Sophomore Quarterback Wilton Speight