The floor for QB performance in 2017 seems higher than it’s been in a long while*. When was the last time Michigan had an all-conference vet returning as a starter AND a legit competition between talent v. experience at the backup spot?
With Rudock you had a reliable player but the transfer situation and lack of viable backup made for uncertainty. With Robinson/Gardner you had 2 excellent talents, but the coaching situation was so bad it undermined the entire offense.
I think you have to go back to Henne/Mallet to find something close and Mallet was a true freshman who wasn’t ready yet. Probably 2005 (Guttierez/Henne) is the last time Michigan could feel so secure and I would argue Speight’s already hit a higher level than Henne had (2 years experience certainly a difference there).
You probably have to go back to 1999 (Brady/Henson) to have a year where Michigan was clearly more confident in it’s top 2 options than we will be in 2017.
*The OL could blow that to bits of course, as it did for Gardner.
