stephenrjking

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.

Joined: 03/15/2012

MGoPoints: 20143986

sum1valiant

August 12th, 2017 at 8:28 AM ^

I say this in every thread, regardless of the topic. We have never had a wide receiver corps with this level of pure athleticism, and skillsets that compliment one another. There will be a time this year that DPJ, Black, Martin, and Nico go 4-wide, and watching the opposing defense realize their fucked will be one of the great moments in Michigan football history.

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 13025

Frank Chuck

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.

Joined: 05/01/2015

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Hotel Putingrad

August 12th, 2017 at 12:25 PM ^

great pocket presence and elusiveness, clutch throws, but an overall lack of accuracy and arm strength which leaves a lot of field position gains on the board. I do think he's a good quarterback, but I'm not sure he's good enough to overcome the lack of a dominant run game and/or defense.

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TheCool

August 11th, 2017 at 9:11 PM ^

I'm surprised so many people think this is just s motivational ploy when Harbaugh doesn't seem the type to BS and if Speight is better I feel like O'Korn and Speight would probably know it. Also, if the 4 wide thing is pretty prevalent in this offense that could fit O'Korn better than last year's offense, allowing him to compete at a higher level. He still might not beat out Speight though.

Joined: 07/13/2011

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Steves_Wolverines

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

Joined: 01/17/2013

MGoPoints: 4673

Steves_Wolverines

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. 

Joined: 01/17/2013

MGoPoints: 4673

LSAClassOf2000

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. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

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Qmatic

August 11th, 2017 at 9:34 PM ^

O'Korn's major issue is issue with pressure. He is very poor in that regard. He loses sight of downfield and is too incline to tuck it. When he has time to set and read he is a superior passer to Speight. He has a better arm and better velocity. His poise is just so much worse than Wilton which is why Speight will win the job.

Joined: 01/09/2013

MGoPoints: 32846

JayMo4

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.

Joined: 04/19/2013

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SeattleWolverine

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. 

Joined: 11/07/2012

MGoPoints: 4047

mgoSk

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.

Joined: 06/09/2010

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NotADuck

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.

Joined: 12/20/2013

MGoPoints: 18383

FrankMurphy

August 11th, 2017 at 10:48 PM ^

Speight is perfectly capable of leading this team to victory. He had his issues last year, but there were also too many instances in which he was running for his life or had a linebacker in his face two seconds after the snap. The issues with this team begin and end with the O-line. Once Harbaugh gets that fixed (and there's no reason to believe he won't, given the brick wall of an O-line he built out of spare parts and microbiology majors at Stanford), the sky's the limit.

Joined: 08/19/2008

MGoPoints: 32110

fksljj

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.

Joined: 11/27/2016

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Ghost of Fritz…

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.   

Joined: 10/04/2014

MGoPoints: 23880

stephenrjking

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.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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