Preview 2016: Quarterback Comment Count

Brian

Previously: Podcast 8.0. The Story.

IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT YOUR QUARTERBACK HERE IS ONLY MOSTLY DEAD

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The Law of Harbaugh: it doesn't matter who your QB is [Bryan Fuller]

Midway through last season this space was openly wondering if Jake Rudock had some sort of disease that prevented him from doing quarterback good. Many theories were theorized. Eastern Shriveled Limb. Leaf's Palsy. The Harrington Syndrome. Akili's Aphid Aphasia. Whatever it was, it warn't good. Headstones were prepared. Ornamental flowers were arranged. Tuxes were rented. Boyz II Men was booked to sing "End Of The Road."

Then Jake Rudock erupted flaming from his own corpse. Pro Football Focus's #150 quarterback out of 159 qualifiers through week nine put the sword to a series of pass defenses ranging from comical (Indiana) to Nazgul in helmets (OSU, Florida), pulled his team's ass out of the fire repeatedly, finished as the second most efficient quarterback in the Big Ten, and got drafted. By the time the smoke cleared last year's Rudock MGo-prediction had gone from a millstone I'd wear around my neck until the end of time to dead on, as it were:

Rudock starts the whole year and turns in a season like last year at Iowa except more efficient: 60% completions, 8 YPA, excellent TD/INT.

64%, 7.8 YPA, 20-9 TD/INT. Rack it? Is that what we say? Someone with a moist goatee tell me the etiquette here.

Anyway. Rudock's surge from Iowa leftovers to sixth-round pick now goes on the Harbaugh quarterback tote board:

  • helped Rich Gannon(!) win the 2002 NFL MVP award,
  • developed non-scholarship San Diego's Josh Johnson into a third-place finisher for the Walter Payton, the I-AA Heisman, and the first draft pick in school history,
  • recruited and developed Andrew Luck,
  • salvaged Alex Smith's NFL career and got him a huge contract despite the fact that he simultaneously...
  • advocated for, drafted, and developed Colin Kaepernick into a legit starting NFL QB when few thought he could make the transition from the Nevada pistol, and
  • molded would-be Iowa backup Jake Rudock into a sixth-round draft pick.

The only point in Harbaugh's coaching career that he didn't have a quarterback somewhere between good and great was his first two years at a 1-11 Stanford program that had been driven off several increasingly tall cliffs before his arrival. And one of those guys beat USC at the height of its Pete Carroll power.

On one level, "who is the starting quarterback?" is the single most critical question about the 2016 Michigan Wolverines. On another level, eh, it'll be fine.

[After THE JUMP: people on this year's roster!]

MY DEPTH CHART'S SO GUESSILICIOUS

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best frenemies [Eric Upchurch]

QUARTERBACK Yr
Wilton Speight So.*
John O'Korn Jr.*
Shane Morris Jr.*

RATING: 3.

So. This space had been projecting John O'Korn as the starter even after spring practice, when Speight inched ahead. So had most other people, but we were all guessing wildly. The decision as to the starter was very much a 51/49 kind of thing, with all projections surrounded by layers of hedging. Early in fall camp 247 surveyed various insiders and got approving mentions for both competitors; they also detailed the choice facing the coaching staff:

In June, we were told Speight was the leader heading into fall camp, and that if O'Korn could tone down the mistakes, he might be the player with the higher ceiling.

Gunslinger versus game manager. Fight.

The uncertainly abruptly resolved itself into a bonafide expectation on Friday, when Wilton Speight was anointed the starter on the internet. The internet is not Jim Harbaugh, and Speight was on point when he told assembled media members that "not many people know what goes on in coach Harbaugh's mind." Still, it seems like a thing.

You'll have to rely on my internet spidey-sense here because we're about to delve into anonymous internet insiders. So there's this guy who goes by UMBig11, give or take some caps, and he's been saying things on 247 and our comments for a bit; he also gives Rivals some of their stuff. In my opinion, he's credible, and just a few hours after Rivals said it was Speight he posted the same thing on our board. Since then various sites have confirmed that expectation.

FWIW, this was the vibe that multiple reporters got when Harbaugh put Speight, O'Korn, and Morris in front of the media a few days ago:

It would now be a surprise—but not a shock—if it wasn't Speight. So about him…

DOOR #1: THE GAME MANAGER(?)

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manage manage manage [Patrick Barron]

WILTON SPEIGHT [recruiting profile] was the backup last year and neck and neck with O'Korn through spring. Speight's spring game performance was approximately on par with O'Korn's, for O'Korn truthers insistent on Speight's candidacy as motivational ploy even at this late date.

Speight did get in for chunks of the Minnesota and OSU games last year. His performance was what you might expect from a middling three-star redshirt freshman suddenly thrust into the fire. He looked overwhelmed. He was horrendous. He spurred tweets about Russell Bellomy.

Then he put together a game-winning drive. First off he hit Jake Butt near the first down marker, then Khalid Hill on a drag. Those were simple; a read and throw on a double post for a touchdown was less so:

The ensuing two point conversion turned out to be critical for Michigan's eventual victory and featured Speight moving around in the pocket and finding a tiny window for the points.

The grim three-and-out parade and unflattering comparisons melted away. Michigan won on a goal line stand that never should have happened for six different reasons; Rudock returned the next week and Speight faded into the background.

He re-emerged after Rudock was knocked out against Ohio State, and again looked completely overwhelmed for a half-dozen throws. After the shell-shock period he looked reasonably good. All of this was garbage time to be taken it with a grain of salt, but there was a nice anticipation throw in there:

That playing time was brief and unimpressive and totally expected for a redshirt freshman backup. He had a tendency to panic under pressure; a number of the throws I filed IN or BR against OSU came when he got sped up and threw it to nobody in particular.

Speight made a move obvious to anyone watching him in spring. His performance at the game itself was polished and confident, with just one errant throw, that a fade that took Grant Perry out of bounds. Hennechart:

[Note: I've rearranged the columns on the Hennechart so that they are now in approximate order of good play to bad.]

Opponent DO CA MA IN BR TA BA PR SCR DSR
Minnesota 1 3+     2* 1     1 63%
OSU 1* 4 2 3* 2   1     46%
Spring   5   1         1 86%

Obviously this is little to go on, but Speight shook that feeling of panic he showed early against both Minnesota and OSU. Ace:

When it came to the two main competitors for the starting job, the QBs were a bright spot. Wilton Speight looked like a different player than the one whose nerves seemed to affect his ability to throw a spiral when he came on against Minnesota last year. He missed a deep ball to Grant Perry; everything else was on-target, and he even made an impact with his legs. He’s making a legitimate push for the job.

Jedd Fisch:

“Wilton’s somebody that has really matured over a year. I think that going into last year’s camp, he’s a much different person than he is going into this year’s camp. He’s taken on the maturity, he’s taken on a lot of responsibility. The obvious game against Minnesota gave him a kind of confidence, you know. He’s excited about it. He’s excited that that’s not going to be the only touchdown he ever throws for Michigan, and I think that’s his mindset, that that’s not going to be my last touchdown.”

I made similar observations after seeing him a couple times in the spring. The occasional wobble on Speight's throws was gone and his arm strength seemed a lot better because he was getting throws out on time consistently. If the real Speight is the guy who led the winning Minnesota drive and was okay-ish after a rough start against OSU, that's a viable player. It looks like things are trending that way. So much so that when Speight tells this to assembled media

"Because it's me, I can remember back to the same plays we ran last year. I watch film and I can remember a rep or a play and I remember thinking last year 'this is so fast, the game is so fast.' It looked like a blur," Speight says. "This year in camp, and in the spring, I drop back and the game is so much slower. I can see guys come open before they're open now, that's the biggest thing.

"Everything's slowed down now."

…it seems plausible.

You know that I have to say this bit: there probably hasn't been an offensive coordinator/QB coach in the history of college football with a recruiting touch as leaden as Al Borges. This quote from Speight during his recruitment is boggling now and will only get worse as time proceeds:

"In their eyes, myself, David Cornwell, and this kid from IMG Academy Michael O'Connor are the best quarterbacks in the nation in this class," Speight said.

Cornwell and O'Conner aren't even in the conversation at Alabama and Penn State, respectively; that recruiting class contained Brad Kaaya, Deshaun Watson, and DeShone Kizer. Kizer, a Toledo kid, was clamoring for a Michigan offer that never came. Not great, Bob.

Speight is the last hope that Borges will ever recruit a QB who finishes his career as the starting quarterback. (Only one Borges-recruited QB has ever been at the top of a depth chart, and Indiana's Cam Coffman moved to tight end after a single year as a starter.) Jim Harbaugh evidently has the ability to turn you or I into a fifth-round pick and Speight will no doubt be okay if he is indeed the guy, but his recruitment offers zero encouragement.

DOOR #2: THE GUNSLINGER

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sling sling sling [Eric Upchurch]

Houston transfer JOHN O'KORN is without question the high-upside option. He's got a big arm and escapability Wilton Speight doesn't. He's great on the run, especially on plays that break down into improvisation. You couldn't throw a rock on a subscription message board last year without hitting an insider who swore up and down that O'Korn, not Jake Rudock, was the best quarterback on the roster. That might have been faint praise early. Late not so much.

He is also the high-downside option. He was thrust into the starting lineup at Houston as a true freshman and performed, completing 58% of his passes for a whopping 3117 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. However, there are a number of caveats in there that Bill Connelly struck upon when he previewed the Cougars going into 2014:

  • The sheer quantity of passing he was called upon to do gave him an edge when it came to counting numbers. His 446 attempts are matched only by John Navarre in the annals of Michigan history; those 3000+ yards come out to a middling 7 yards a pop.
  • Opponents got their hands on a ton of O'Korn's passes. 76 of his attempts were touched by the opposition. Ten were intercepted. On average you would expect a whopping 19 of those to get picked off.
  • He faded badly late. His last five games: 98-for-199 (49%), 996 yards (5.0 per pass), six touchdowns, six interceptions.

That fade only got worse in 2015. Houston's offensive coordinator lit out for greener pastures, some jabroni was brought in to replace him, four offensive line starters graduated, and O'Korn and the rest of the Houston offense went off one of those cliffs Stanford had previously traversed. By the time he was permanently benched for Greg Ward, O'Korn was completing just 52% of his passes for 4.8 yards an attempt with 6 TDs and 8 INTs. PFF had him 133rd of 135 in their "adjusted completion percentage" metric.

The final straw was a horrendous game against Central Florida:

O'Korn looked like Christian Hackenberg trying to throw out of a paint shaker for the duration, went to the bench early in the third quarter, and never returned. A few months later he was in Ann Arbor.

Jim Harbaugh's goal here is to turn O'Korn from Ryan Mallett. Michigan edition, into Ryan Mallett, Arkansas edition. There were a lot of factors that helped O'Korn down the highway to hell. When O'Korn looked good, as he did against BYU a few weeks before his benching, he looked like a guy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He suffered a lot of drops and his offensive coordinator basically never managed to work guys free like Harbaugh did for Rudock a year ago. It was all contested throws, obvious screens, and pop passes on which opposition safeties were obliterating his receivers as soon as the ball arrived.

O'Korn offers a lot to work with if you can just give him a valium and get to polishing, and his performance in the spring game was a major step in the right direction:


While a couple of those scrambles may have been premature, those were the only erroneous decisions on the day. O'Korn was accurate, decisive, and sane. His weird sidearm delivery and tendency to drift backwards like a dude who sucks at Madden were close to absent.

A look at a Hennechart of selected games might be illuminating here. A reminder that * means a particular bad event was an extremely bad version of that event and + is for a successful throw made under serious duress or after escaping the pocket.

Game DO CA SCR PR MA BA TA IN BR DSR
Rice 2013 4 14(4) 2 2 3   1* 6** 3* 62%
BYU 2014 4++ 29(6)++++   5 1   4 9(1) 1 66%
UCF 2014 1 12(4) 2   4   4 7(3) 1* 55%
Spring Game 2015 2 6 4 2 2   3 2   71%

You can see the wildness as a freshman. Lot of great throws in the Rice game on not a ton of attempts; four starred incidents.

You can see the oppressiveness of the 2014 Cougar offense versus BYU: six + throws, five snaps on which he was pressured so fast he could not realistically be expected to do anything. You don't see the gap between those successful throws and his stats as his receivers dropped a ton of balls.

You can see the total implosion as that season went along: against UCF O'Korn turfed three of seven screens and threw a boggling interception.

And then you get something that looks like a much more refined player. Nothing crazy either way. His accuracy is still a bit off, but most of those decisions to take off you remember from the spring game were correct. A year with Harbaugh seems to taken much of the wild-eyed berserking out of O'Korn. If he does end up playing he'll probably be fine, with a lingering tendency to throw balls up for grabs. At the same media availability that Speight offered the quote about things slowing down for him, O'Korn sounded like a guy who hadn't quite got there yet:

"I think you heard coach talk about eliminating the big mistake. That's something I felt I've done very well with in this camp," he said. "In spring ball, I wasn't as comfortable with the reads. I was still trying to feel out being back in the huddle, leading a team. I got all the kinks out in spring ball. I feel like that's been my biggest stride. Attention (to detail with) the offense and just being able to go out and play ball again."

He'll play in the first three games a bunch, and there's a nonzero chance he ends up emerging a la Kaepernick if Speight opens the door for him.

EXPECTATIONS

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possibly the best QB on the roster still [Upchurch]

Whoever gets the starting nod will have one huge advantage over early-season Rudock: experience. Rudock only arrived in fall camp last year. Speight and O'Korn have as much experience with the Harbaugh offense as Rudock does even now. Fisch:

"It's a huge difference from when we had this conversation last year. ... A lot of it last year in those discussions was just guessing. Now, we have film on Wilton in the games he played last year. We had meetings with them all of last year, all spring and their preparation has been excellent.

"Now it's exciting. You can build off of last year without the approach of too much newness. ... Now we can show them film of Michigan people doing it, rather than someone else."

It's probably irrational to believe that the starter will be late-season Rudock. Despite Rudock's early struggles this is a guy who was a solid two-year starter at Iowa prior to his arrival. Speight has about two quarters of on-field experience, and O'Korn's season and a half ended in disaster.

But neither should start out as rough as Rudock did. The guy who wins the job has a fully weaponized Jehu Chesson, Jake Butt, and Amara Darboh, a slot receiver who's not going to conjure interceptions out of nowhere, and most of a good pass-blocking offensive line back. Also the opener is Hawaii, not Utah. The end result should be somewhere near last year's outcome: 60% completions, 8 YPA, 2:1 TD-INT. The ride there should be far less turbulent.

If it sounds crazy that I'm projecting a new starter to be amongst the most efficient QBs in the Big Ten, please keep in mind that this year's crop of QBs is CJ Beathard and zero other players who graded positively per PFF. (JT Barrett was positive overall but negative as a passer.) It's a very BIG TEN year. 8 YPA isn't gangbusters nationally.

The starter will be okay. He will not submarine the season; he will not carry the team. Unless, you know, Harbaugh.

BACKUPS

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Morris grew a beard, so yeah man[Upchurch/Fuller/Upchurch]

Redshirt junior SHANE MORRIS [recruiting profile] was definitively behind the two leaders per both Harbaugh press conference answers and spring game deployment—Morris mostly played slot receiver. In the aftermath he promised the press that he was still a quarterback, and he still is.

Without an injury crisis he is exceedingly unlikely to play. There's been some talk he's trying to get on special teams just so he can see the field. His odd mid-career redshirt a year ago looks like the result of a frank conversation between Morris and Harbaugh that not only was he miles behind Jake Rudock but also Speight, who was called upon in multiple games. No coach is going to redshirt his backup quarterback; despite approving chatter last year Morris apparently wasn't #2. At this point he's neither the present nor the future and is likely to take a grad transfer after the season.

A couple guys vying to be the future are already on campus. Early-enrolling freshman BRANDON PETERS [recruiting profile] comes with a boatload of hype and a certain resemblance to Andrew Luck. You don't even have to squint that hard. He's a little skinny and didn't play big-time competition in Indiana and is also a true freshman, so he needs some work. He started putting that in this spring, drawing repeated approval from Harbaugh:

“It’s impressive what he did, as young as he is, being out here for the first time,” Harbaugh said. “He’s got some real coolness about him. It showed up over and over each of the four days. He’s not a guy that panics. He’s a natural in a lot of ways. I was very excited about what he did.”

He's guaranteed a redshirt unless that injury crisis descends. Even Luck redshirted. As for the future, it could come sooner than you think. Webb reports that he's the "most talented quarterback on the roster" and that he will be a serious threat in 2017.

Redshirt freshman ALEX MALZONE [recruiting profile] dropped off everyone's radar after a freshman-like 2015 spring game performance placed him definitively behind Morris in the pecking order. This spring all the talk about young guys both public and private focused on Peters. Ominously, when Harbaugh extends the QB competition discussion past the two leaders Malzone doesn't get mentioned:

Harbaugh has maintained that both Speight and O'Korn were ahead of both Morris and true freshman Brandon Peters. But he did say that all four will get their chance to compete for the job this fall. The other quarterbacks -- redshirt freshmen Alex Malzone and the walk-ons -- will likely be working from behind.

Malzone is a short, relatively polished guy who's going to have to be Drew Brees or Tom Brady to make it, he's got a narrow window of opportunity to put himself in the 2018 conversation before Dylan McCaffrey and whoever else arrive.

Comments

dragonchild

August 29th, 2016 at 1:20 PM ^

When people say "platoon" they usually mean both options suck.  That's not the case, but don't think the All-Rudock Show early last season is a thing, either.  Harbaugh kept Rudock on the field late in blowouts last season because, as mentioned by Brian and myself and others, he arrived so late to the party that every snap was precious.  He was pretty much figuring it out for half the season.  Prepping Speight was a luxury I'm sure he wanted but painfully knew he couldn't afford.  Today, all three QBs who might see the field this season have had over a year of Harbaugh's coaching.  Also, Speight's appearances and jitters (not to mention the Bellomy disaster) show how important it is to have a game-ready backup.

So if our offense puts away our first few opponents early, you might see the backup play as many as 40-50% of the offensive snaps.  I mean, if it doesn't happen that won't be a shock either, but this year's QB situation is very different from what we had coming out of 2015 fall camp.  I think there's a good chance we'll see two QBs with significant playing time for the first few games of the season.  And of course the media will blather about QB controversy herpa derp.

dragonchild

August 29th, 2016 at 2:09 PM ^

You'll notice Harbaugh has done the exact opposite.  Even last season, he didn't name Rudock the starter until after fall camp ended, even internally.  And he's changed starting QBs on more than one occasion.

You want your QB confident in his play and -- in Rudock's case -- that he won't be benched for stupid reasons.  You don't bench your starter for a game because, for example, a micromanaging jackass of an AD thinks it's a good idea.  Harbaugh put his full weight behind Rudock because A) people calling for him to be benched were stupid, and B) the next-best guy wasn't even close.  But "the guy" QBs often have issues that don't get cleared up for lack of competition.  Shane Morris is where he is now partly because Hoke all but named him heir to Devin Gardner.

What I don't see happening is Harbaugh platooning the QBs in close games to see who has the hot hand.  When he changes QBs midseason it's either between games and/or due to injury.  I'm actually kind of going out on a limb thinking he might break trend and put the backup in early this season.

dragonchild

August 29th, 2016 at 2:37 PM ^

Midseason changes, yes.  Stanford went back and forth between Tavita Pritchard and T.C. Ostrander during Harbaugh's first season there.  The #1 reason was injury, but when the backup outplayed the starter, backup stayed in.  Ostrander was held out of the USC game and lost the starting job even after he came back (sound familiar?) until Pritchard himself got injured.  In another game, according to the recap, Pritchard went out with injury but recovered on the sideline; Harbaugh kept Ostrander in.  They split time almost equally the last game of the season but I don't know what the story was there.  The backup did play some garbage time snaps in their only blowout win of the season.

So injury was often the impetus, but it wasn't the only deciding factor on who played.  Harbaugh kind of seems to have a hysteresis approach when two QBs are equally good (or equally bad).  One guy plays until some extenuating circumstance requires the other guy to play, at which point that guy plays until Harbaugh has a reason to switch back.  I think the logic is, he doesn't gamble the house on one guy, but tries not to disrupt the QB's mojo when he's on the field.

ypsituckyboy

August 29th, 2016 at 1:21 PM ^

My inclination is to go with the high upside guy, but I'm gonna take a hard pass on someone who got rattled mentally in the past. High level football is not kind to QBs who aren't incredibly mentally tough and very self-assured. O'Korn seems like damaged goods in that sense, and the last thing this teams needs is for the QB to make a mental error due to the pressure of a late, close, must-win game.

kb

August 29th, 2016 at 1:25 PM ^

Is more athletic and mobile than people give him credit for. He's not going to juke you out of your shoes, but his feet aren't going to grow roots in the ground either. I think I read he played other sports like lacrosse.

wahooverine

August 29th, 2016 at 1:55 PM ^

yeah exactly.  He is fairly athletic, he's just doesn't look smooth andn agile when he runs because he is so tall.  His highschool tape shows a 60+ yard run...not that I'd expect that he should be able to move way better than people are giving him credit for.  He has a Rudock like level of athleticism and I'd expect him to be able to move effectively to avoid pressure, and pick up the occasional first down with his feet. His highschool tape shows him able to do that.  As a bonus his height should prevent some of the batted balls we saw with Rudock.

I think Speight can can be a 6'7 Rudock

Space Coyote

August 29th, 2016 at 1:26 PM ^

Just kidding.

On another note, if we're allowed to treat kickoffs like we did back in recess in elementary school - where instead of kicking the ball you just threw it as far as you could - Morris would be a great asset (the one exception being that one kid that would swear up and down he could kick the ball a mile and when you finally gave him a chance he duffed it about 10 feet and then you never let him live that down ever again because friends let friends know when they suck at something and they should feel bad... or something like that).

FutureOfA2

August 29th, 2016 at 1:34 PM ^

I was at the Minnesota game last year--in the Minny student section none the less (I'm in college, it's normal)--and the second Speight stepped on to the field, I, too, stepped on to an emotional rollercoaster. It wasn't pretty, but it shouldn't be overlooked that he finished that drive. Little did I know, the roller coaster wasn't finished until after a goal line stand. That game had me all types of confused. Then I literally bumped into Brad Nessler while leaving the stadium. Anyway, I love the quote from Speight about the speed of the game. I'm definitely okay with the offense in his hands, given the weapons we have at literally every other position on this roster. Also, coaching staff.

Blue Balls Afire

August 29th, 2016 at 1:47 PM ^

Sorry to those who saw me share this opinion before, but even with our expected great defense this year, I still think we need to score 36 points to beat OSU.  Not sure Speight can give us 36 in the Shoe.  But what the hell do I know.  The QB situation coming out of the submarine this year seems to be exactly the same as it was last year--game manager v gunslinger, Rudock v Morris, Speight v O'Korn.  I thought our QB last year had to be the higher ceiling gunslinger in order to be successful, ie, that JH working his magic with Morris would yield better results than JH working his magic on Rudock. Obviously, I knew nothing.  Lesson: trust Harbaugh, always.

Blue Balls Afire

August 29th, 2016 at 1:59 PM ^

Yeah, that's the problem.  Small sample size and the submarine gives us little (nothing) to go on.  I admit I'm making assumptions based on his MN and OSU games and the very little snippets of practice video.  (For example, the one snippet of his anticipation out-pattern throw in this very post to me looked like he lacked arm-strength and that good CB's later in the year will bait and jump that route.)  I'm willing to be proven wrong and if Speight is the starter, I hope to god I'm wrong.  

bronxblue

August 29th, 2016 at 5:51 PM ^

I don't think people assume that is a bad thing. But Speight didn't come with a big arm or great accuracy even in his recruiting profile. Doesn't mean he can't be good or that people can't change physically, but Speight certainly doesn't look like an athletic marvel or a passing tactician, which sort of leaves you with limited descriptors.

Pepto Bismol

August 29th, 2016 at 2:25 PM ^

I don't get the John O'Korn hype.  Everybody wants this guy because he can throw a football over them mountains, and run faster than a cheetah, but when has that ever been the most important part of being a QB? 

The list is endless of guys with adequate arms and lead feet making pro-style offenses hum.  I'm not going to list everyone in the history of football, but let's just go 1,2,3 with Brady, Manning, Montana. 

I honestly think guys on this board would choose O'Korn over present-day Tom Brady.  I mean, he's got a higher ceiling right?  Potential to reach 10, where dead-legged Brady can only hit 7, right?  "Mobility!", right? 

O'Korn is practically a folk hero at this point for accomplishing...what exactly?  Reporters thought he looked good in practice last year?  Is that it?  That's really about it, isn't it?  It makes me chuckle.

You can't stumble through one of these conversations without somebody throwing around Speight's "3-Star" recruiting profile against him like a black eye, yet he was ranked (#452 overall) nearly 200 spots HIGHER than generic 3-star John O'Korn (#635 overall, albeit a year apart).

 

Absolutely none of this is anything against John O'Korn.  I'm not anti-O'Korn.  I'm just blown away by the pre-conceived bias for the guy based on nothing but a relatively unimpressive run at a mid-major and anonymous camp chatter. 

Good luck to both.  Can't wait to see you on Saturday.

 

bronxblue

August 29th, 2016 at 5:49 PM ^

This blog made a strong point that Speight was bad and O'Korn was good, so some of the frothing falls here. That said, Speight looked good against Minny in the end, but its not like anyone has all that much to go on for him either beyond the staff. I don't honestly care who starts; my guess is that both guys will see a lot of time and I could totally see the spot be in flux a bit this first month, named starters be damned.

Kevin13

August 29th, 2016 at 2:16 PM ^

I am sure he's ready for the opener.  Knowing Harbaugh it was a tough competition and the cream rose to the top.  I still think O'Korn is not far behind and will get some reps in the first few games. I think it's close enough that Speight will have a shorter leash then say Ruddock did last year and too many mistakes and O'Korn could take over.

Is it Saturday yet?

markp

August 29th, 2016 at 3:27 PM ^

"But neither should start out as rough as Rudock did ... fully weaponized Jehu Chesson, Jake Butt, and Amara Darboh ... Also the opener is Hawaii, not Utah."

Great points.  I'd also add that Rudock took his first practice snaps under Harbaugh just 27 days before the opener against Utah.  O'Korn and Speight have had 394 and 571 days (respectively) in Harbaugh's system.  That's about 15x and 21x the time Rudock had to learn.  I'm expecting improvement.

I'm bored. Chart? Chart.

Fezzik

August 29th, 2016 at 8:28 PM ^

If Speight is our guy we could very realistically lose THREE QBs next year. Morris and O'Korn may leave for playing time and if Malzone is already buried in the depth chart he may transfer as well.

uminks

August 29th, 2016 at 11:31 PM ^

will continue through the non conference portion of the season. Wilton has made some big strides and O'Korn may not have improved enough to jump up to starter. It would not surprise me if O'korn improves enough to overtake Speight before conference play. This should be fun to watch and hopefully a solid starter will take control at the start of conference play. Who ever the starter,  It will be great to have a very capable backup. I like both of these QBs.