Michigan Football should stick with Brandon Peters for 2017
Michigan football needs to find out what it has in Brandon Peters and there is no better way to than starting him for the rest of the season.
Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh likes to be coy with the media. Such as on Monday, when he said Brandon Peters was likely going to be the starting quarterback Saturday against Minnesota.
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That’s all well and good, but when it comes down to it, Peters should be the only quarterback starting games for Michigan football during the final month of the season.
That might seem like a big leap to make and in truth, it probably is. But after watching Peters Saturday against Rutgers, he seems like the best quarterback available, even when Wilton Speight gets healthy.
Peters was supposed to challenge for the starting job in fall camp, but his challenge never materialized. Speight was named the starter and helped Michigan to a 4-0 start. However, he struggled when he played and the Wolverines offense sputtered, especially in the red zone.
Many wanted John O’Korn or Peters to get a shot. Well, after an injury to Speight against Purdue, Michigan football fans got their wish. O’Korn played well against the Boilermakers in relief. But threw three picks against Michigan State and was lackluster against Penn State, Indiana and Rutgers.
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It was clear come last Saturday, O’Korn had lost confidence. So finally, after an interception and two fumbles, Peters got the call. And all he did in response was lead back-to-back touchdown drives to close the half. Yes, his outing against the Scarlet Knights was short lived, but it showed enough to think Peters could be the new long-term starter.
Speight will be back next season, so will freshman Dylan McCaffrey and both will vie for the job, but so will Peters and with a strong final month, he could put himself in the driver’s seat.
Certainly, Speight is a decent college starter. But he’s not elite and he’s probably not a championship caliber quarterback. He’s inaccurate, mistake prone and hasn’t proven himself to be a difference maker.
Ultimately, Peters could be in the same boat. Maybe he is just another average quarterback. It’s possible that McCaffrey will beat him and Speight out for the job next season. But at the same time, maybe not, maybe he is a special player and we just don’t know it yet. Harbaugh did compare him to Andrew Luck once after all.
The only way to find out, is to give Peters an extended chance to play. At 6-2, Michigan football has a lot to play for, but it’s also not winning the Big Ten Championship. That dream is dead, the Wolverines are now basically a spoiler in the conference race.
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So why not see what you have in Peters? See what he can do against Wisconsin and Ohio State. You never know when a star will be born and for Michigan football, now seems as good a time as any to find out.