further adventures in Jed York being unsuited for his position
agree
LIST OF WWE PERSONNEL?!?
add another item to the pile as to why this was a bad idea
Dennis Dodd could have stopped at the headline, but he continued to write an excellent article.
true, but let's get those conditions up
but he's not a lollipop guild member
michigan thankfully does not feature
Support MGoBlog: buy stuff at Amazon
We have our (only?) 2014 QB, first reported by TomVH ($).
Michigan Football class of 2018
— Wilton Speight (@WiltonSpeight) February 6, 2013
We won't have to wait long to see the coaches' plan for QB recruiting: Michael O'Connor and David Cornwell are supposedly getting phone calls from the coaches this afternoon.
6'6" 217
That's just awesome.
over cornwell? must have really impressed borges i guess. thought cornwell and oconnor would get the 1st offers with one for speight coming later in process
In Borges we trust?
He hasn't earned it yet at the QB position. Denard regressed as a passer under him. He brought in Bellomy who clearly isn't good enough. Then he said Bellomy was prepared to go in the Nebraska game when clearly he wasn't.
Denard regressed as a passer? Denard was never a great passer. RR did a better job of getting guys laughably wide open. That was the biggest difference. Bellomy was a late offer in a partial class that you're throwing under the bus after one bad (admittedly very bad) outing. I don't think there's reason not to trust the coaches.
I don't think there's reason not to trust the coaches
There sure as Hell is. They haven't proven anything with the QB position. I guess you can blindly trust them but that seems doltish.
Yeah, Devin Gardner was awful. And Borges has never developed good QBs in the past.
So, are you saying that anyone who disagrees with you is a dolt? Or just that any position that disagrees with yours is "doltish?" Or that trust in someone hired to do the job is "blind?"
I am going to trust that the coaches know what they're looking for. Would I rather have dual-threat QB's and a spread option? Of course. But that's not how it's going to be under the MANBALL mandate handed down by DB.
Part of me thinks Michigan will regress to their 21st century mean of 4.1, their median of 4 losses per year during the same time, or what I feel is a more reasonable 3.5, which I got by taking their historic 9-3 ratio and adding a projected .500 record in future bowls, for a rough13-game estimate.
Nonetheless, I want to see how well this staff makes their offense work with their own fifth-year seniors before I stop trusting them.
It isn't "blindly trusting them". It is simply a matter of a lay fan showing deference to experts that have been evaluating talent for a very long time at an elite level and who get paid really good money to do this, and have had much closer access to these kids than you (or the recruiting sites for that matter at this state in the evaluation process).
The possibility exists that Denard never was and never would be a good passer. The possibility also exists that Bellomy was brought in as a late addition to a class they had about a month to cobble together. Furthermore, the backup QB debacle was precipitated by a certain receiver who left the team hanging out to dry due to his poor decision making. There weren't really a lot of good options, and I'm sure the decisions were not made solely by Al.
I'm not on the Borges bandwagon by any stretch of the imagination. The playcalling was unimaginative, and whatever happened in Columbus was nearly deriliction of duty.
But to try and heap the QB problems all on him is not at all accurate, imho. If Devin comes out this year and struggles, then we can talk,
So Gardner was a better passer under Rodriguez?
This isn't a knock on our receivers at all, but our best receiver is like 5'8. I don't think anyone will disagree when I say we clearly don't have the best receiving group out there. It's not easy to develop a quarterback that is throwing to small receivers.
He doesn't seem to have a ton of zip on the ball, but he's got top-notch accuracy and vision from what I saw in his video. We can definitely with with him.
I love withing with people
He meant to say: "We can definitely withe with him."
Which makes sense if he has a lot of accuracy but not a lot of zip. You really don't need much zip with a withe.
I still don't know why you would enjoy withing with people...
Actually, he meant to say "We can definitely writhe with him". Personally, I'd rather not, but I guess the decision to writhe or not to writhe is best left to individuals.
I thought the same thing. Nothing like Shane's velocity. But he sure is hitting receivers in stride and dropping the ball right into their hands. And it's not like he was throwing ducks -- they just didn't have that great velocity. You have to think, as well, that the coaches are valuing intangibles. This is a pretty exciting pick-up. It should help with the vitally important receiver recruiting.
I think that the slow lofty passes are just his style. When he needed to he zipped the ball right into the receivers' chest. Also, you can easily tell from the long bombs he threw that he has the arm strength. He is a very impressive young quarterback, great fundamentals and instincts.
I was impressed with a couple of his passes while rolling out. He put a little zip on them while his feet were still moving. That's not easy. Overall though, I agree that he looks like a touch passer based on what I saw of the video.
Actually, the criticisms I have found is that he has a big arm but needs footwork.
6'6" means nothing if you suffer from John Navarre Syndrome.
Yeah, it's going to suck if Speight only throws for 9000 yards in his career.
the same John Navarre that won a BIG championship and went to the Rose Bowl? who wants that?
in fairness UM struggled as navarre had two mediocre seasons. but to his credit he kept his head up, worked hard and had a great senior season. it wasn't his fault henson left a year early. i have nothing but respect for navarre, though i would have liked to see other guys get some reps while he struggled early on.
I feel like we should aim for more than 1-2 against Ohio, 1-2 in Bowl games and 3-4 losses per season.
What a fucking idiot.
I hope Hoke contemplates take 2 in this class. Need to build depth. This kid looks good! That makes 2 commitments for 2014! Go blue!
In 2014 we should have Gardner, Bellomy, Morris and Speight. As long as we take one QB a year, depth should be fine.
Of course, if Gardner leaves for the NFL, or there's an injury or a transfer, before next year's signing day, we should consider taking two. The depth chart will be a concern this year, but not any other.
Gardner could also not get his medical redshirt.
Also, I seem to remember the coaches mentioning at some point that they'd like to take a mobile quarterback every couple years as a project to see what they can get. I like that idea and hope they take one next year.
Welcome home!
Interensting, don't think we've ever gotten a 2014 commit on signing day. Was he trying to slip under the radar?
You're correct, this is the first time we've ever gotten a 2014 commit on signing day. We only have two 2014 commits though and Ferns was already committed.
I'm positive it's the first time a 2014 kid has committed on signing day. It's never happened in the history of the program.
But seriously, the timing is interesting. Perhaps the coaches were waiting to see what else developed before today with the 2013 scholarships before deciding who and how many 2014 QBs to offer?
were his only offer. Ive heard his arm isn't the strongest but everything else is really good, so lets hope he strengthens the arm.
Just trust the staff, they've earned it.
When it comes to QB evaluation? Not so sure they have yet...
If they've offered him this early, I have to assume the staff really wants him. This isn't a 2013 signing day flyer, this a whole year before signing day. Have to assume the staff is happy to have him if they accepted his commitment this early
The other thing is that he reclassed after he got hurt his first junior year (he played every game this year without injury) He also was on varsity his freshman year and started his sophmore year. So he's been starting for three years and he gets one more. Geuss who gets to protect his blind side this year.
I believe he had 24 touchdowns and 17 interceptions this past season, so I wouldn't say everything else is good... That's a lot of picks.
EDIT: By comparison, Cornwell completed 57% of his passes for 27 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
I don't know anything about Speight's level of competition but Cornwell played against some pretty weak teams. He'll be tested this year with the move to Norman North (Oklahoma 6A).
Speight's level of competition is as weak or weaker.
FYI: His high school has 498 students, according to Wikipedia.
Will never be confused with an elite district in Texas, but it does include FUMA's high school team (not to be confused with their post-grads, but very strong) and Woodberry Forest (Doug Randolph, CJ Prosise, Ed Reynolds, Aramde Olaniyan).
Heard from who? Just where in the video highlights do you see any evidence whatsoever that he's got problems in arm strength?
Wilton Speight - QB - Richmond (VA) Collegiate: The 6'6", 217-pounder has no offers at this time. Speight might be the sleeper of the group. I like the way he throws the ball under pressure. Sometimes it's unbelievable how accurate he is with guys in his face, but to be honest, it seems like he's in a habit of throwing off his back foot because of a porous offensive line. He barely has a chance to breathe before two or three defenders are in his face. He's a little too stiff in the pocket for my liking and will struggle to avoid college rushers; he lacks great arm strength and has a little bit of a hitch in his delivery. He just looks very unpolished. I could see him going somewhere like Texas Tech or Washington State and lighting it up a few years down the road, but I don't think he's a good fit for Michigan.
http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2013/02/scouting-report-2014-quarterb...
EDIT: not trying to call out TTB or Magnus, just saying that's where I'd seen a similar player evaluation. additionally, Magnus does offer some explanation as to why his tosses might be off the mark, or not as impressive (the poor O-Line.)
Lofton18, I owe you an apology for questioning your comment, as per WillyWill's info.
that he can handle pressure and throw accurately with people in his face (and at his feet, ostensibly). Anyone can sit there with a clean pocket and look good, like its a 7 on 7 drill. Unfortunately, opposing teams have plans of their own and they involve rushing, hitting and otherwaise maiming opposing QB's (especially the upper echelon teams. The ones we REALLY want to beat). As a result, I'd rather have the guy who can handle the rush who may not have all of the measurables over the guy with a million dollar arm and a ten cent head.
Eh. I take most of those evals with a grain of salt. At least with the other services we can look into the evaluators past and figure out if they have a leg to stand on. Not so much with TTB.
Wasn't he just saying that cornwall was getting the offer and he was hoping for one? Very strange twist.
