Michigan Football: Are We Overplaying QB Competition?

Even though we’ll continue to talk about it throughout the summer, are we giving too much thought to Michigan football’s quarterback competition?

We’ve all been thinking it for pretty much the entire offseason, and Jim Harbaugh has even gone as far as to confirm our collective suspicion that Michigan football is in the midst of a three-way battle at the quarterback position.

First of all, that’s not new territory for the Wolverines. Harbaugh’s first two years have been full of uncertainty during these offseason months. It seems the 2015 battle was more heated than last year’s, but that apparently still doesn’t mean we’re comfortable saying Wilton Speight will return in 2016 as the starter for a second straight season.

There has been a lot of talk about Brandon Peters, and just a little bit about John O’Korn. Together, along with Speight, they make up that three-way battle which will probably see itself late into summer.

But given Speight’s accomplishments last season, is there a chance we’re giving too much attention to something that maybe doesn’t deserve it? That would be totally unlike us, right—to give endless airtime to something that doesn’t call for endless airtime? (That’s sarcasm, of course.)

More from GBMWolverine

Last season, Speight threw for 2,538 yards while completing 61.6 percent of his passes. His touchdown-interception ratio of 18-7 was encouraging enough, and he was especially good at keeping plays alive in the backfield.

For the record, 2,538 yards is the 10th-best season for a Michigan quarterback. Had he been healthy enough to play against Indiana, it’s possible that he could have moved up to No. 6 or even No. 5 on that list.

The darkest stain on last year’s schedule, without a doubt, is Ohio State, where he turned the ball over three times (two interceptions, one fumble). If we’re being brutally honest, Speight is the No. 1 reason Michigan didn’t beat the Buckeyes.

But there were also plenty of bright spots, including a three-touchdown performance against UCF and a two-touchdown performance against Maryland (he also completed 79.2 percent of his passes in that game). And as I mentioned above, Speight showed an incredible ability to avoid pressure and at least give his offense a chance at making something of a play that looked doomed.

It’s not often that a potential returning starter gets tossed from his job, but it obviously does happen. In this case, we’re giving Peters, a redshirt sophomore, some pretty good odds at catching and passing Speight.

I’m not going to pretend to have answers that I clearly don’t, but if the spring game is any indication, those throwing their money behind Peters definitely have something to point to. But there’s plenty there to justify Speight too.

Next: Top 10 running backs in Michigan history

This is not a prediction (or an indictment of anyone choosing Peters), but I think we need to think harder on how much attention this issue is garnering before we give it everything we’ve got.

Home/Michigan Football