5 Offensive Players to Watch in Michigan’s Spring Game

Tag: John O’Korn


1Apr 2016
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5 Offensive Players to Watch in Michigan’s Spring Game

Ty Isaac 805x

Ty Isaac

Yesterday I posted about what to look for from Michigan’s defensive players (LINK), and now here’s a look at the offense. The spring game is at 6:00 p.m. tonight at Michigan Stadium. Admission is free. If you’re watching on TV, it will be broadcast live on BTN from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and on BTN2Go after that. Then it will be re-aired in its entirety at 9:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

QB Wilton Speight

We saw Speight play a little bit last year. If we’re being honest, it was mostly bad. If not for one crunch-time, game-winning drive and a touchdown pass to beat Minnesota, it would have been downright ugly. The 6’6″, 239 lb. Speight went 9/25 (36%) for 73 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. However, the coaching staff has stated that the quarterback job is open, and Speight has reportedly inched past John O’Korn. Last Saturday at the Ford Field open practice, Speight was the first guy getting reps. He appears to be more of a game manager, but it would be nice to have a quarterback who can push the ball down the field a little bit.

Hit the jump for four more offensive players to watch.

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27Mar 2016
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Ford Field Open Practice: Offense, Injuries, Walk-ons

Wilton Speight 792x

Wilton Speight

Happy Easter Sunday, everybody! Along with a few thousand other fans, I made my way to Ford Field on Saturday. I sat in the stands, ate a hot dog, and watched Captain Khaki run practice. I chose not to live tweet it because, well, it was nice to sit back, relax, and watch a well run practice. Below are my thoughts on some roster news and the various positions:

ROSTER NEWS

  • WR/CB Freddy Canteen is not on the roster and his status is unclear.
  • WR Jehu Chesson was doing work on the sideline and on the bike, wearing a brace on his knee.
  • RB Kingston Davis was in shorts without a helmet and running steps. Lots and lots of steps.
  • OG David Dawson was wearing a sling on his left arm and did not participate.
  • CB Reon Dawson and WR Jaron Dukes have left the football program and are exploring medical scholarships.
  • DT Ryan Glasgow was in shorts and a helmet going through some non-contact drills, but then ran steps with Davis for a big chunk of practice.
  • RB Karan Higdon was in street clothes. No injury was apparent.
  • DE Shelton Johnson was not visible to me. I looked for him extensively and never saw him. Sam Webb tweeted that he was on the sideline in street clothes.

Hit the jump for a position-by-position breakdown of the offense.

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27Mar 2016
Blog, homepage no comments

Ford Field Open Practice: Offense, Injuries, Walk-ons

Wilton Speight 792x

Wilton Speight

Happy Easter Sunday, everybody! Along with a few thousand other fans, I made my way to Ford Field on Saturday. I sat in the stands, ate a hot dog, and watched Captain Khaki run practice. I chose not to live tweet it because, well, it was nice to sit back, relax, and watch a well run practice. Below are my thoughts on some roster news and the various positions:

ROSTER NEWS

  • WR/CB Freddy Canteen is not on the roster and his status is unclear.
  • WR Jehu Chesson was doing work on the sideline and on the bike, wearing a brace on his knee.
  • RB Kingston Davis was in shorts without a helmet and running steps. Lots and lots of steps.
  • OG David Dawson was wearing a sling on his left arm and did not participate.
  • CB Reon Dawson and WR Jaron Dukes have left the football program and are exploring medical scholarships.
  • DT Ryan Glasgow was in shorts and a helmet going through some non-contact drills, but then ran steps with Davis for a big chunk of practice.
  • RB Karan Higdon was in street clothes. No injury was apparent.
  • DE Shelton Johnson was not visible to me. I looked for him extensively and never saw him. Sam Webb tweeted that he was on the sideline in street clothes.

Hit the jump for a position-by-position breakdown of the offense.

read more

23Feb 2016
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Spring Football Preview: Quarterbacks

John O'Korn 725x

John O’Korn

Projected starter: Redshirt junior John O’Korn. The buzz from last year suggested that O’Korn would have been starting over Jake Rudock if not for the fact that Rudock had the slight advantage of being eligible to play. The 6’4″, 220 lb. O’Korn is bigger, possesses a stronger arm, and is perhaps a little more athletic than Rudock. We have yet to see O’Korn do anything in a Michigan uniform, so this spring will be exciting.

Departures from last year: Rudock (64% completions, 3017 yards, 20 TDs, 9 INTs) started every game last season but graduated and is trying to slip into the NFL Draft. Redshirt freshman Zach Gentry is transitioning to tight end.

Backup battle: The battle to be #2 is wide-open. Last year’s primary backup was Wilton Speight, who will be a redshirt sophomore in the fall. Speight had one good series when he led the team to a game-winning touchdown against Minnesota, but otherwise, he did not instill observers with much confidence (36% completions, 1 TD, 1 INT altogether). The coaching staff openly admitted that they were trying to redshirt Shane Morris, but Jim Harbaugh also said that Speight legitimately passed up Morris on the depth chart a few weeks into the season. We have heard standard off-season rumblings about Morris improving, maturing, etc., but those stories rarely seem to come to fruition. Redshirt freshman Alex Malzone started for one of the spring game squads last April, but he’s not on the same level physically as Speight or Morris, and he’s less experienced. True freshman Brandon Peters enrolled early in January. He’s the highest touted recruit of the whole group, but he’s just a pup; the last time we saw him, he was going 4/16 in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He’s probably bound for a redshirt this year.

#1 thing to watch: If O’Korn isn’t the starter in the fall, it will be a major surprise. So I’m most interested to see who the #2 guy is coming out of the spring. Speight wasn’t very good as a backup last year, but Morris has been pretty lousy in more extended playing time during his career. At some point during the season, the backup typically has to come in during at least one important moment. If Morris is #3 on the depth chart after the spring, I would not be surprised to see him transfer, even though he said he wanted to remain at Michigan next year.

1Dec 2015
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Michigan vs. Ohio State Awards

Jeremy Clark

With an eye toward next year, here’s a look at who I’d like to see more of in the future. Of course the bowl game is coming, but the venue and opponent are up in the air at this point. So in other words, seniors are out of the running for “Let’s see more/less of this guy . . . .”

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . John O’Korn. Early in the year, I was hearing good things coming out of practice. The word was that if O’Korn were eligible to play, he would be on the field instead of Jake Rudock. Of course, Rudock finished the year on a hot streak, and that talk about O’Korn died down during the second half of the year. It’s hard to believe that O’Korn could have outplayed late-season Rudock, but if he’s better or close to better by the beginning of 2016, then Michigan will be in great shape offensively. He’s 6’4″, 220 lbs., has a strong arm, and can run a little bit.

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards.

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