Wilton Speight Archives - Page 9 of 16

19Sep 2016

Blog, homepage 66 comments Thunder

Michigan vs. Colorado Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Jabrill Peppers. Michigan struggled to run the ball yet again, but Peppers had 2 carries for 24 yards in this one. He also had 204 all-purpose yards, including a 54-yard punt return touchdown. Michigan shouldn’t wear out Peppers, but if he can be a difference-maker, he should be getting 5-10 touches on offense against the best opponents. I think it’s good to get him some early touches, and then if Michigan pulls away, they can stick with their regular offensive personnel.

Hit the jump for more awards from the Colorado game.

18Sep 2016

Blog, homepage 47 comments Thunder

Michigan 45, Colorado 28

Jabrill Peppers (image via Fansided)

That went about how I expected. I didn’t think Colorado would jump out to a 14-0 or 21-7 lead early in the game, but I thought their tempo and creativity would be a problem for Michigan initially. Sometimes it takes Michigan a few minutes to get used to the other team’s tempo before they settle in, and that was the case against the Buffaloes. Maybe it’s because they don’t play against tempo in practice, but it takes an adjustment period. I also think some Michigan fans were underestimating Colorado based on their last few years, but they have a lot of experience, some quality receivers, and a pretty good quarterback on offense, along with a couple good corners and a couple solid front-seven players on defense. I predicted a 31-17 win for Michigan, so this was more of a high-scoring affair, but I knew it would be a fight.

Hit the jump for more.

12Sep 2016

Blog, homepage 14 comments Thunder

Michigan vs. Central Florida Awards

Eddie McDoom (image via Twitter)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Eddie McDoom. I’m not calling for anyone to get benched here. I just really like what I’ve seen out of McDoom so far. He’s shown speed, agility, willingness to fight for extra yardage, an ability to catch the ball in traffic, etc. He needs to get in the weight room this off-season, but there’s a lot of potential here.

Hit the jump for the rest of this week’s awards.

10Sep 2016

Blog, homepage 24 comments Thunder

Michigan 51, Central Florida 14

(image via PCH)

Wilton Speight is the real deal? I still don’t know. Speight went 25/37 for 312 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions while taking 2 sacks. He spent much of the day hitting crossing routes or checkdowns; his deep balls included a couple misses, a 35-yard gainer to Jehu Chesson, and a touchdown to Amara Darboh. Central Florida got more of a pass rush than they should have and made things tough at times. Perhaps Speight’s best play of the day was when he was in the hands of a blitzing UCF safety, but the 6’6″, 243 lb. QB spun around to find wide-open fullback Henry Poggi in the flat, who then rumbled through a couple tackles for an 8-yard gain. Speight was also more efficient than the numbers suggest, because normally sure-handed tight end Jake Butt dropped a couple passes. It was a very good day for Speight, but I thought Jedd Fisch’s passing game created some nice windows to throw the ball.

Hit the jump for more thoughts on Michigan vs. Central Florida.

5Sep 2016

Blog, Uncategorized 8 comments Thunder

Michigan vs. Hawaii Awards

Wilton Speight (image via Houston Chronicle)

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Chris Evans. If you watched the game, you already know that Evans was the breakout star of the opener. He ran 8 times for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was a nifty run where he dived for the left pylon, showing good field awareness and body control. The other was a 43-yard burst right up the middle after being untouched at the line of scrimmaged. He hurried a couple runs, but he showed good patience on most of his rushing attempts. That’s how you average 14 yards/carry. Evans looks like the most explosive running back the Wolverines have had in several years.

Hit the jump for more awards from the Hawaii game.