November 2nd, 2015 at 12:55 PM ^
I reject the premise of this thread and will instead focus on the positive.
We have a good back-up QB for the first time since forever. Also, Peppers.
November 2nd, 2015 at 12:57 PM ^
Let's not go crazy. I hope you're right, but the dude completed the first three passes of his college career to go 3/6 for less than 50 yards.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:01 PM ^
Agree, but that td pass was probably one of the highest pressure points of the season and he did throw a strike in a tight window.
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November 2nd, 2015 at 1:06 PM ^
Once he settled down a little bit he was on point. I'm not sure Rudock would have hit either the TD pass or the 2 point conversion.
Very small sample size, but Speight took care of business while under a mountain of pressure.
Not too bad for a RS Freshman getting his first meaningful playing time.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:08 PM ^
100%. Rudocks balls seem to always be behind the route. Those 2 throws were the first time I've seen a Mich QB throw to where the receiver would be
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November 2nd, 2015 at 1:10 PM ^
Rudock would not have made either throw and Michigan probably loses the game.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
knowing what Rudock would or would not have done. Rudock did throw a td earlier in the game on a similar route.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:28 PM ^
but as you are not omniscient, I doubt rather you REALLY know if he/she is the actual Oracle or not. Would the Oracle really have to parade herself as the Oracle, or would she prefer to work in the shadows...
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
I had to look up "omniscient" And now I know it all.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:05 PM ^
FYI, this phenomenon is called "second order epistemic unavailability." You're welcome...
November 2nd, 2015 at 4:06 PM ^
I thought he meant Peppers as the backup QB.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^
i have no idea what you are talking about, but i have seen Rudock play 8 games at Michigan and i guarantee you he wouldn't have completed that pass. it would have either been high, low, or behind Chesson. unlike Speight, Rudock has a rather large sample size and it's not good.
at this point i'd rather just see Speight. i know there could be a big downside with his inexperience, but Rudock's experience isn't taking us anywhere.
it's funny, you're supposed to play the game "to win", not to "not lose", but having Rudock in there is saying just the opposite.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:06 PM ^
That's how the OT rules dictate in college football.
Also, Rudock made a very similar throw for his TD pass as Speight did on his TD throw.
Also, Speight hasn't had many of his weaknesses exposed yet because he hasn't been forced to play a lot yet. When people actually scout for you and your skillset, the game gets a bit more difficult.
I'm not all on board the "still down on Speight" train, but there is much more to this than playing to "not lose" vs playing the game "to win".
November 2nd, 2015 at 4:05 PM ^
He did enough to beat MSU(ARGH!). I have no idea where you think a rs frosh would take Michigan. Harbaugh runs a complex scheme. Rudock is there to get everyone lined up and to run the play correctly.
You greatly downplay the imapct of inexperience on an offense. Speight could very eaisly cost Michigan a game or two with bad throws. Where would UM be then?
At this point I am fed up with fans who think Speight would fare any batter. The reality is that he would pobably do worse and that's no slam of Wilton. He lacks experience and a lack of experience is an absolute killer for the vast majorirt of QBs. Harbaugh's is not a "plug-and-play" system. It requires a lot of QB from a mental standpoint. That's why Rudock is starting.
Some Michigan fans refuse to understand this and that is causing them to express asinine statements.
November 3rd, 2015 at 8:57 AM ^
Jesus.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:17 PM ^
It looked pretty similar to the ball Speight threw.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:09 PM ^
It was the same route and chesson ran both of them
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:34 PM ^
grab anyway.
Speight threw on time, and Chesson made that catch as well.
It was great watching Chesson bring down some important balls in this game.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:40 PM ^
Exactly. Rudock was late to Chesson. Chesson had to stop to catch the ball, which is why the CB caught up and hit him hard. The announcer even remarked on how "smart" it was of Rudock to throw the ball behind his receiver, forcing him to stop, because it prevented the safety from being able to make a play. Clearly the guy hasn't watched a lot of Michigan football this year, because that throw is just the Rudock standard: late and preventing any YAC.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:40 PM ^
"You know, I don't really like to compare two great things/people.."
November 2nd, 2015 at 4:46 PM ^
I've noticed that. Another thing I've noticed is that he has to really step into his passes in order to make sure they hit the mark. Not shitting on him; I greatly appreciate his efforts. Just my observation.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^
I said this in some snowflake thread or something the other day. I don't believe for sure that Rudock makes that TD pass. He probably doesn't make that 2 pt play either.
Edit: I'm not saying Speight is the better QB. Had Rudock not gotten hurt he could have very likely led them to victory with many differnt scenarios. I'm just saying with how that throw was balls on the money is not something I believe Rudock could do.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:22 PM ^
Simple. Rudock completes the TD throw. Rudock does NOT make the 2pt conversion because he winds up and throws it to Brainerd. No touch or sense of improv with our QB1, unfortunately.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:12 PM ^
Rudock's TD throw to Chesson earlier in the game which was similar, yet from further out.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
Silly
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:46 PM ^
He had to fit it into a tight window between the corner and safety. Not to say Rudock's overall play this season hasn't left alot to be desired, but to say he can't make that throw when he made a very similar one earlier in the same game is kind of silly.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^
On the road, by the way.
No easy situation.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:50 PM ^
Speight has a Henne-like trajectory on his throws and looked very cool and calm in the pocket. Definitely gives you some confidence that finally we are not doomed when our starting QB goes down. After Rudock took that shot, I had memories of @Nebraska at night going through my mind.
Speight ain't no Bellomy
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:54 PM ^
And he has more TD passes than any other option (outside of Rudock obviously)
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:05 PM ^
Those were 3 pretty damn big ones under intense pressure, so yeah I'm feeling better about that.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:23 PM ^
throw on the TD, excellent pocket awareness. Even more on the 2 pointer. No 2 pointer and we lose!!
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:07 PM ^
conversion doesn't count in his statisitcs, but that was a nice play.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:07 PM ^
He's done something that neither Morris nor Belamy ever did; throw a TD. However, I can't tell if Speight is actually ahead of Morris or if there is a mutual decision between Harbaugh and Morris to redshirt him this year so he can grad trasnfer with 2 years remaining.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:13 PM ^
Well per Harbaugh, it was a mutual decision to RS. Now the real question is weather that is legit planning for the future, or if Morris is trying to get another year at another school...
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November 2nd, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
Harbaugh would be willing to willing to drop a game in order to save redshirt for a qb who has thrown 0 tds in his first two years here. I'm sure he's saying it mutual to not embarrass Shane for not being the guy.
If Shane was the better qb over Wilton then he would have gone in. Simple as that.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
if Haubaugh believed that Morris gave him better chance to win, Morris would've be in the game.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:47 PM ^
Harbaugh thinks short, medium, and long-term on risks and rewards. This has been a decision "in the making" for probably 8 months with only partial clarity understood by fans in the last 2 months.
And as another poster said below, the "99% final" intent to redshirt Morris was likely made weeks ago. Since then Wilton has probably received the majority of back-up snaps and instruction and may therefore be the best alternative after the starting QB goes down.
November 2nd, 2015 at 10:11 PM ^
Bingo. Harbaugh explained it as being an understanding, early on, between himself and Morris that an attempt would be made to preserve a redshirt--thus, as we saw, it was Wilton in mop up duty up until now. What Harbaugh mentioned had happened recently was that HIS confidence was growing as he watched Wilton make the correct read and deliver the ball properly in the last few weeks of practice. In other words, the young man actually EARNED the #2 spot by performing at a high enough level to be deemed the backup starter, and thereby Morris became the true #3 QB.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:19 PM ^
I agree that Harbaugh wouldnt not risk losing a game, just to preserve a redshirt, I think the calculus is a little different given that they apparently decided to redshirt Shane several weeks ago.
I would imagine that once they decided they were going to redshirt Shane, then Speight would have been given most of the backup QB reps in practice. At that point, even if Shane is an overall better quarterback "on paper", Speight is still the only guy who is game ready.
In other words, I think its possible they decided to redshirt Shane even though he was the legitimately the second best QB on the available roster. But once that decision was made, they would have immediately started prepping Speight as the backup and then he is going to be the guy no matter what.
November 2nd, 2015 at 1:55 PM ^
If Shane transfers after this year (assuming he hasn't graduated) he would have to sit out another year and have one year of eligibily left. He would have essentially wasted a year of eligibility (also assuming any transfer would be to a I-A school).
If he wanted so try to get another year at another school then the plan would be to RS this year, perform next year and then transfer after graduating. This means Morris knows that he will play next year but not be the starter because he's already planning on transferring the year after. If he were the starter next year there is no reason why he'd not want to be back for a fifth year.
My uneducated guess is that Harbaugh evaluated him and sees a high ceiling but with a lot of kinks to work out. Thus he redshirts this year to work out the kinks and can legitimately compete next year. This seems to make sense based on what we've seen from him (physical tools, but poor coaching).
I think that all parties fully expect that Shane will have a legitimate shot at starting next year. If not then he should have transferred prior to this season.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:06 PM ^
Unless he wants the Michigan degree and will graduate this year.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:14 PM ^
The only thing we don't know is where he is in credits. It could be possible that if he sticks around through spring, he could graduate this summer and have two years eligibility as a grad transfer. I imagine that would be difficult after not enrolling early, but I have no idea the kind of course work he took, and it certainly is possible. I really hope it's just a plan that he can put it together through the next offseason and possibly be a two year starter. We'll just have to see.
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November 2nd, 2015 at 2:32 PM ^
From what body language I saw on TV I think Morris is gone. I saw him looking chagrinned with a slight negative head shake. I get the feeling he wants out at the end of the year.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:15 PM ^
Was that Wilton would transfer. Shows the value of speculation vs. being the coach & staff.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:36 PM ^
That was a thought I had. Gardner graduated in 3 years. I can't remember if he enrolled early. If so that would probably mean 4-8 credits during the spring and summer terms prior to his freshman year.
If he were set to graduate after this year and then transfer I'd find it odd if he agreed to RS knowing he would transfer after this year. How would Harbaugh take that? He's wasting a scholarship at that point. Maybe Jim is generous enough to allow for it, but given his 5th year try-out policy for certain individuals, I'd find it hard to believe he would do such a thing with Shane.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:44 PM ^
Gardner did enroll early I believe. I think it's fine keeping him on a scholly even if he's planning on grad transferring, as long as he puts in the work. UM has schollies available, and it would be a dick move and a PR disaster to say 'I'm yanking your scholly because I think you're transferring next year. I think it's on Morris' mind, but at this point, he still needs the spring, so stay around, get more coaching, see where you stand, then make your final decision on whether to transfer after that.
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November 2nd, 2015 at 2:46 PM ^
Gardner did enroll in January (early).
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
Is it even possible to play for 2 years as a grad transer without sitting out a year? I guess it should be if you graduate in 3 years, but I don't think ive ever heard of that before.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:37 PM ^
QB from Maryland with two years eligibility, Danny O'Brien. He left Wisconsin after one year though and transferred down a division.
November 2nd, 2015 at 2:46 PM ^
of Aaron Rodgers under Favre. That's why I'm inclined to agree with you.