The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2017 THE WOLVERINE 29 2017 SPRING FOOTBALL PREVIEW. QUARTERBACKS S peight was absolutely rolling heading into the Iowa game last year, and the Wolverines were along with him. Nobody could have predicted the shoulder injury that cost him at the end of that upset, made him miss the Indiana game and continued to bother him at Ohio State. Nobody figured Michi- gan would lose three of its final four games — by a grand combined total of five points — either. But it all unraveled that way, causing the Wolverines consider- able hunger in the offseason to take it up a notch, starting with Speight. It's tough to imagine him unseated for the starting spot, but it's good for Michigan to see the talent push- ing him. — John Borton BY THE NUMBERS 2 Interceptions thrown by Speight in Michi- gan Stadium during the 2016 season. One of them occurred on his very first pass at- tempt. 7 Touchdown passes in the first two games of 2016 by Speight, tying the Michigan record for TD tosses in the opening two weeks. 79% Of Speight's passes that were completed l a s t y e a r a g a i n s t Maryland, represent- ing his career best. 292 Passing yards by Spei- ght in the opening 30 minutes against the Terrapins, represent- ing the Michigan re- cord for yardage via the air in an opening half of football. POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH This position battle is always the most watched, even in a year when things seem set. Speight won the spot a year ago and strengthened his grip on it throughout the season, even prompting Harbaugh at one point to say he could be in the consideration for the Heisman Trophy. But each year is new, and someone like Peters could push very hard to, at the very least, carve out some time for himself, maybe as a changeup to Speight in lieu of Jabrill Peppers' missing wildcat action this season. WHO'S GONE SHANE MORRIS Morris moves on as a graduate transfer to Cen- tral Michigan, where he seeks to see more time on the field, after a four-year Michigan career in which he threw for 434 yards with no touchdowns and five interceptions. WHO'S BACK REDSHIRT JUNIOR WILTON SPEIGHT Speight did so much right in his first year as a starter, throwing for 2,538 yards and 18 touch- downs against seven interceptions to become third-team All-Big Ten, but the expectation is for considerable improvement, especially in the toughest showdowns. FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR JOHN O'KORN O'Korn stepped in to guide Michigan to vic- tory against Indiana when Speight was hurt, but he's trying to tally more than 173 yards and two touchdowns passing, with a 58.8 percent comple- tion rate. REDSHIRT FRESHMAN BRANDON PETERS Peters is "a natural," in Jim Harbaugh's own words — someone who can make all the throws, move well in and out of the pocket, and who will be seeking to carve out a role on the field in 2017. TOP NEWCOMERS FRESHMAN DYLAN MCCAFFREY Multiple outlets pegged McCaffrey among the top three prep quarterbacks in the nation after he led Valor Christian High School to Colorado's Class 5A state championship game in four straight seasons, throwing for nearly 8,000 yards and 80 touchdowns his final three campaigns. Everything earned, nothing given, even for a quarterback who guided the Wolverines within three plays of perfection a year ago. Redshirt junior Wilton Speight reigned as king in 2016, but he will get pushed hard by those seeking the throne. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN "You look at all these guys and say, it's up to Wilton Speight to continue to create separation from those guys. It's up to those guys to push him, and it's that competition that's going to make all of those guys better." — U-M All-American Jon Jansen QUOTABLE WILTON SPEIGHT