2016 Season Countdown: #9 Wilton Speight
Name: Wilton Speight
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 243 lbs.
High school: Richmond (VA) Collegiate
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #14
Last year: I ranked Speight #86 and said he would be a backup quarterback (LINK). He completed 9/25 passes for 73 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception; he also ran 2 times for 2 yards.
Michigan’s quarterback situation was rather confounding, especially in the spring of 2015. Let us consider the following:
- Jake Rudock was at Iowa. He ended up transferring to Michigan and starting every game.
- Freshman Alex Malzone was the first QB picked in the spring game draft. He was at the bottom of the depth chart and redshirted.
- Junior Shane Morris was the second QB picked in the spring game draft. The only experienced, eligible QB on the spring roster, he ended up redshirting and was third on the depth chart.
- Redshirt freshman Wilton Speight was not picked to play in the spring game. Other than Rudock, he was the only QB to take a single regular season snap in 2015.
- Redshirt sophomore John O’Korn sat out the year while transferring.
The in-season depth chart (Rudock-Speight-Morris-Malzone) looked totally different than the spring one (Malzone-Morris-Speight), and it might not be a good sign for a couple of those guys that they had a head start and still got passed by Speight. Even his 2015 season was mostly uninspiring, with just one decent drive to his credit. That drive ended in a game-winning touchdown throw to Jehu Chesson against Minnesota, but Jake Rudock – who was injured – returned the next week, and Speight went back to standing on the sideline until he mopped up against Ohio State in dreadful fashion (6/14, 44 yards, 1 INT).
Hit the jump for more on Speight.