Harbaugh: Speight and O'Korn have separated themselves, battling for QB1
August 11th, 2017 at 10:38 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 11:45 PM ^
A lot of this interview is just conventional preseason interview fluff (don't get me wrong, I watched and loved every second of it). He's not bagging on Peters, nor is he saying that this is a neck-and-neck competition (we know it isn't). He's just saying he has a clear top 2.
There's lots of interesting stuff hidden under the coachspeak elsewhere. DPJ, Martin, and Black sound like they're for real, and Nico has a chance to push for time as well. Young guys are the second string on the DL. And the offense's success all comes down to the OL, pretty much what we've expected. I was encouraged by how he spoke of Kugler. The right side not so much.
I couldn't be more hyped for our receivers this year. I could see them getting national attention as a corps, perhaps after a couple of big plays by different guys against Florida. Even one of these guys would be exciting, but we're looking at 3 or 4 who could be dominant players.
August 12th, 2017 at 8:28 AM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 3:15 PM ^
Speight's deep ball completions will improve with this lot.
August 11th, 2017 at 9:07 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 10:00 PM ^
Of the 12 games Speight started, which one is most indicative of Speight? Was it Maryland where he looked unreal or was it Iowa where he started well and then fell off a cliff?
I don't know the absolute correct answer but I have a reasonable one: all 12 games showed us something about Wilton - the good, the great, the bad, and the ugly.
Problem is O'Korn had only 1 game. So in the absence of more info, fans fixate on that. He's not as bad as he looked in that game (which was affected by inclement weather) but O'Korn is also not as good as some fans wanted him to be.
August 11th, 2017 at 10:06 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 11:05 PM ^
In what way? Genuinely curious, and no way I'm watching that game a second time.
August 12th, 2017 at 12:25 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 11:31 PM ^
May be JOK will do well both in practice and on the field. He has more game experience than Peters.
August 11th, 2017 at 9:11 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 9:23 PM ^
Gonna break his collarbone.
August 11th, 2017 at 9:27 PM ^
I'm kinda happy Harbaugh is publically silencing the QB debate this early. Peters still needs time. Speight is the man this year, Korn is #2. Speight goes pro after this season, and the team belongs to Peters for the next 2 years (or just 1 if he crushes it, which I'm banking he will).
2017: Speight
-Speight goes to the NFL
2018: Peters
-Peters goes to the NFL
2019: D-Caff
2020: D-Caff or Milton
2021: Milton
August 11th, 2017 at 9:36 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 9:38 PM ^
But when Speight leads the B1G in passing yards, TD:INT ratio, and QB rating, while leading Michigan to a 11-1 record, our first B1G Championship game and revenge match vs Wisconsin (which we win), and then to the CFP, I think he'll get some calls from the NFL.
August 11th, 2017 at 9:46 PM ^
...you got any stock picks?
August 11th, 2017 at 9:49 PM ^
Maryland, Purdue, Northwestern: Stock Up
MSU, PSU, Iowa, Nebraska: Stock Down
August 11th, 2017 at 10:52 PM ^
not going to hit their earnings target.
Sell before the bottom falls out.
August 12th, 2017 at 9:48 AM ^
Thanks for the Purdue tip, but I avoid penny stocks as a rule.
August 11th, 2017 at 9:42 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 9:53 PM ^
He is not even going to be the starter by the end of the season
August 12th, 2017 at 1:02 AM ^
I think Speight will be the starting QB in 2017 and 2018.
August 11th, 2017 at 9:29 PM ^
I mean, I think the safe assumption was "Speight until it isn't", but even then, when I think about statements like this coming out of various analyses, I am reminded of how Harbaugh likes to keep the actual compression between #1 and #2 - or #1 and #1A perhaps - close to the chest, as it were. I try to have too many deep takeaways from fall camp, but sometimes the speculation is fascinating.
August 11th, 2017 at 9:32 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 9:34 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 11:48 PM ^
i wondered where all the qb experts were.
August 11th, 2017 at 9:35 PM ^
My only rooting interest is that whoever wins the competition had to earn it because the other two guys have improved enough that he really had to bring his A game.
I just want to win. If Speight gets us Ws instead of Ls, that's awesome. If it's Peters or O'Korn or Mone's infamous belly throwing TD passes, that is hunky dory with me.
For now, let's just assume Speight's struggles were health-related and now he's healthy, and O'Korn is playing like he did in the spring game. Maybe Peters needs one more year. He has four more years of eligibility. It's a luxury if we don't have to press him into service before he's ready.
August 11th, 2017 at 9:37 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 10:08 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 9:56 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 10:17 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 10:23 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 10:29 PM ^
It was always going to be Speight starting against Florida and what happens after that will depend on how Speight does against their defense. Great opportunity for him to demonstrate he's improved against a quality defense.
August 11th, 2017 at 10:30 PM ^
O'Korn's last hurrah. He's probably competing his tail off. I can understand it.
August 11th, 2017 at 10:34 PM ^
Drevno mentioned only two QBs Speight and O'Korn and only those two QBs were interviewed. Not sure what that means, but...
August 12th, 2017 at 12:22 AM ^
Just a shot in the dark here, but maybe it means those two have separated themselves?
August 11th, 2017 at 10:36 PM ^
Hard to imagine anyone other than Speight starting. However, I doubt O'Korn is miles behind. If somehow #8 is under center against Florida, here is what would run through my mind. Again, I expect Speight to start.
1. Harbaugh will elevate the play of any and all quarterbacks he coaches, and no quarterback has an infinite cieling, so I'd be surprised if O'Korn hasn't been able to make up some ground in another year (note that both O'Korn and Speight were 3 star recruits). In limited action, 2015 Speight (36%, 73 yds, 1:1) did not give much indication of how good he would be in 2016 (62%, 2500 yds, 18:7). It's not inconceivable that O'Korn could make a similar leap.
2. Comparing O'Korn's single start last year to Speight's 12 is not exactly ideal from a sample size perspective, nor is it great when you consider all of the extra reps and attention the starter gets throughout the season. If their roles were reversed, who's to say how he would be playing? Let's not forget Speight's first play of last season.
3. O'Korn is more of a dual threat compared to Speight, and that isn't something Wilton can exactly improve on. Speight's pocket presence is great, but that's something O'Korn could learn.
4. This is O'Korn's last season and last chance to start, maybe he has increased urgency.
August 11th, 2017 at 10:41 PM ^
This screams "Speight is already the starter and has always been the starter and will always be the starter, even after he graduates and gets drafted by a Canadian football team" to me.
August 11th, 2017 at 10:48 PM ^
August 11th, 2017 at 11:04 PM ^
Hmmm I made a comment last week that I thought Harbaugh might throw everyone for a curve and make O'Korn the starter, at least for the Florida game. We all know how Speight "performs" in the big games. I don't doubt that Peters is ready, and if our opponent were anybody other than Florida, he might have gotten a crack at it. Knowing our luck, it'll probably be (sigh) Speight.
August 12th, 2017 at 2:16 AM ^
August 12th, 2017 at 9:40 AM ^
Yes, I will quit being a fan because some keyboard warrior wants me to. Let me get right on that for you.
August 11th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
1. Re: Peters: Are there any good examples of a RS freshman unseating a 'pretty good but not spectacular' incumbent starter and the then playing a lot better than the former incumbent starter?
Only example I can think of is Darnold at USC last year. Surely there are others. But I tend to think this a very rare and, therefore, resisted the Peters hype train.
2. Re: Speight: Are there any good examples of a 'pretty good but not spectacular' QB with at least 1 year of starts making a huge leap to 'top 10 QB in the nation' level of play?
I can't think of any examples.
August 12th, 2017 at 12:08 AM ^
Colin Kaepernick over Alex Smith?
August 12th, 2017 at 10:08 AM ^
but I think the NFL context is not the same as college ball.
August 12th, 2017 at 12:36 AM ^
1. Andrew Luck, etc. RS Freshman doing well aren't unheard of. Jameis Winston instantly upgraded FSU's QB position, and he replaced a first-round NFL draft pick in EJ Manuel.
2. Good examples of QBs growing into top-level players? Tons of examples. Just to pick one that's kinda obvious and fits what you're looking for, Carson Palmer.
But a lot of young QBs start out only ok and develop into top ten type players. Some of them are known to be rising talents that start early, others emerge. But it's not hard to see Wilton Speight grow.
I mean, Connor Cook precisely fits your definition of #2. Speight can be that good easily.
August 12th, 2017 at 10:12 AM ^
Connor Cook precisely fits my definition of #2 as well.