Tag: Wilton Speight

2016 Season Countdown: #9 Wilton Speight

Wilton Speight (image via Michigan Daily)

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.

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Video: Every Snap video from spring game

Thanks to Twitter personality/MGoBlog commenter DGDestroys, we have videos of every offensive snap from each of the quarterbacks in the spring game. Since loading five videos on one page can bog down your computer, I embedded them separately on the message board. Click on the following names for their respective videos:

• Alex Malzone
• Shane Morris
• John O’Korn
• Brandon Peters
• Wilton Speight

Spring Game Observations

Ty Isaac beat Jabrill Peppers to the edge for a long gain (image via MLive)

QUARTERBACK
After watching Brandon Peters last week and now this week, I have very high hopes for him. He’s not ready yet, but he’s adjusting to the college game quickly and is a good athlete. I think he has the highest upside on the team. I still think it’s a neck-and-neck battle between Speight and O’Korn. I want O’Korn to win the job because I think he has better athletic skills and you can do more things with his legs, but it’s a tough choice. (Yes, I realize Speight scored a TD on a naked bootleg, but the guy he burned was walk-on linebacker Jack Dunaway. Also, I’ve seen Peyton Manning score on a similar play, and Manning is nobody’s idea of a mobile QB.)

RUNNING BACK
I’ve said it for a long time, but Isaac was the best runner on the field. He finished with 10 carries for 78 yards, including two long runs. He was also running behind an offensive line that included mostly backups, freshman left tackle Grant Newsome, and center Mason Cole. He’s not without flaws (for example, he doesn’t have the same angry fervor as De’Veon Smith when trying to break tackles), but Isaac looks improved from last year. Kareem Walker looked decent, though the competition he shined most against were walk-ons. Kingston Davis recovered enough from last week’s undisclosed injury to notch a couple carries, but he didn’t have a lot of room to run; he looks like a truck, but he probably needs to shed a few pounds. Of the fullbacks, I’m not in love with Henry Poggi because he’s just not a guy who’s a threat with the ball in his hands. I really like Khalid Hill there, and I think Bobby Henderson can be a Kerridge-like player (though I’m not sure about his hands yet).

Hit the jump for the rest of the position-by-position rundowns.

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5 Offensive Players to Watch in Michigan’s Spring Game

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

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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