Interesting interview on Speight and reason for transfer
Brad Galli with a nice piece over on ABC on why Speight decided to transfer. Although Speight denies any hard feelings towards the staff, he does seem a little slighted by the fact that he was splitting reps with the other QB's in spring practice.
“There are certain things that are maybe hard to put into words. I have always been in quarterback competitions. At the bus last year, Coach Harbaugh said I’m gonna be a top quarterback in all of college football this season. Then the first spring practice happened and I was splitting reps,”
Interesting take and look into the program. Apparently a meritocracy indeed. Video in link.
LINK: http://www.wxyz.com/sports/speight-speaks-out-on-decision-to-leave-mich…
November 28th, 2017 at 9:58 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:13 AM ^
Not true about everyone's best perfomances being against inferior teams. I could give you many specific examples of this, but I suspect you do not need them. Let's just agree that every good player excels against inferior teams.
I certainly disagree about Wisconsin, who I think we probably beat if Peters does not get hurt, mostly due to average to poor offensive line play.
I don't care about anyone's stars; they mean nothing once the whistle blows, if they ever did before it blew. Peters is a the real deal, and someone as talented as DM is going to have a difficult time displacing him as Peters's confidence grows with game experience.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:21 AM ^
Also disagree about Peters not yet having a good game. In his wins, he did exactly what the coaches wanted him to. We won the games. Happy? I was.
Accumulating game stats are for losers, not that any of our guys have ever done that. But it's a team game, and Peters's contributions in the wins were consistent, and almost for that alone was an improvement over Speight. The guy had some good games, notably for me against MSU last year, but he was consistently dreadfully inaccurate with 30% of his passes. Good in pocket, but very slow afoot, and not very athletic. I grew to like him, but I look to the future with much higher hopes and expectations than his level of play.
Hope he does well wherever he ends up unless he's playing against us.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:53 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
"what has Peters done to indicate he is better than Speight?"
Total QBR 2017:
Speight - 23.3
Peters - 56.9
Game QBR:
Speight -
Florida - 38.1
Cincinnati - 21.8
Air Force - 22.0
Peters -
Rutgers - 96.3
Minnesota - 24.9
Maryland - 81.5
Wisconsin - 28.4
November 28th, 2017 at 1:36 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 2:14 PM ^
1) QBR looks at situational stats, not raw stats. It considers things like down/distance, and score. It also treats a 5 yard pass downfield differently than a screen pass that gains 5 yards.
2) Minnesota is the #43 S&P (#66 FEI) defense in the country. Cincinnati is the #85 S&P (#116 FEI) defense in the country.
November 28th, 2017 at 3:13 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 5:22 PM ^
I still feel like Speight's biggest problem this year was the receivers, and not having an extant O-line.
November 27th, 2017 at 7:16 PM ^
Wilton was an absolute warrior running out there for the OSU game last year. I remember feeling really down all week leading into the OSU game last year and seeing Wilton go really made it seem like we had a true chance. Yes he had some mistakes, but damn I will always remember that 4th down OT td and him yelling to go for two!
Best of luck to him and I hope he ends up in the NFL.
November 27th, 2017 at 7:21 PM ^
Leaving. He has no other power or control over his situation other than choosing not to continue with the program. Which means he took Harbaugh's choice out of the decision.
This impacts the bowl game and the recruiting picture in the short run. It impacts the backup situation next year and any security Harbaugh thought he might have next year.
And, his decision may have also been motivated, at least, in part, by rumors regarding the Ole Miss qb considering a transfer to Michigan regardless of whether his eligigibility would have interfered with Speight's. It's just another body and player to overcome.
Let's be honest, this is the crucible that faced Tom Brady when he was at Michigan.
November 27th, 2017 at 7:33 PM ^
Good point. What Speight faced was no worse than what Tom freaking Brady faced.
What did Tom Brady do? We went out and won the job, and then every single week never gave anybody a reason to be able to take it back from him.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:14 PM ^
I believe Brady felt he was better than Griese but didn't get the nod. Then he had Drew Henson and very open popular fan support for Drew. He stuck it out - he talked with Greg Harden who pointed out that yes, he could transfer but if it was his ambition to be a pro player at some point he had to compete with someone and face competition each year potentially so he might as well get used to it.
This might be an interesting topic for more detailed analysis - how often do QB transfers turn out well? (set a low bar - make it to a NFL roster)? I can think of a few high profile examples like Troy AIkman going from Oklahoma to UCLA, Russell Wilson from NC State to Wisconsin, ? others.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:30 PM ^
Baker Mayfield is about to win a heisman.
Jarrett Stidham is killing it at Auburn as of late.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:50 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 9:25 PM ^
Jake Rudock?
November 27th, 2017 at 9:27 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 9:28 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 9:34 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 9:44 PM ^
Transfers work out well A LOT.
November 28th, 2017 at 5:24 PM ^
It will also hurt our scout team quite a bit, I would think.
November 27th, 2017 at 7:50 PM ^
He says it isn't about the competition, but what else is it? He came out on top 2 years, he probably knew he wasn't going to be #1 going into next season with Peters having game experience.
He wants to play in the NFL. He had 2 guys behind him that was going to make it tough to get playing time next year. But if he (feared he) couldn't beat out 2 younger guys, how does he think he'll fare better in the NFL where competition is constant?
This is something impressive about O'Korn, how he never seemed to sulk when he wasn't #1 and when he was benched in favor of a younger QB. He always gave it his best with a good attitude, despite other limitations. I think Speight's chance at the NFL is as good here as anywhere.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:58 PM ^
This is a helluva good take IMO.
I am sure Speight is butt hurt a little, and this is still fresh, so I'll give him a pass if he actually said those things.
Watching JOK play Saturday was painful, but what you said about him in your post is so true.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:31 AM ^
Not saying JOK's not a selfless team player, but I think another reason he never sulked may be because he lacked self confidence to the point where he was relieved to not have to go out and fail. That explains to me how someone with decent/adequate ability - as shown his FR year at Houston, and in the Purdue game - seemed hesitant and incapable of making on-field decisions. QB is such a thinking position, and something was inhibiting his thought process. He was just waiting for the game to unravel, and it would.
Perhaps as a FR he felt no heavy expectations because he was a FR? In the Purdue game he came off the bench - didn't have a week of failure-think as the designated starter? I don't buy the showing-up-the-former-coach motivation in that game, because if simply a matter of self-motivation, I have no doubt that he wanted to win - he would have been "on" for his other games, and especially OSU.
I was a play-JOK-instead-of-Speight guy early on. Wanted him to have on-field success. I think he's a high character guy, and I wish him the best.
November 27th, 2017 at 7:54 PM ^
You can see why a young QB wouldn't like splitting reps in practice or in games, but this year shows exactly why it's absolutely necessary- can you imagine how much worse this season would have gone if Peters and JOK had even fewer reps?
November 27th, 2017 at 7:54 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 7:54 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 8:15 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 7:59 PM ^
I have a feeling losing Speight is going to bite this team in the ass. I think he was still the best QB on the roster.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:23 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 9:28 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 9:51 PM ^
This is so far off the mark that I am tempted to say that your avatar checks out.
It would have been nice to retain him as the third string qb, but the dude wants to play. Wish him luck.
November 28th, 2017 at 9:03 AM ^
Third string? Are you serious? You can't be serious.
November 28th, 2017 at 10:03 AM ^
I am dead serious, Mr. McEnroe.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:32 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 7:54 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 10:28 AM ^
If you invert the fraction, only then might I agree with you. Speight is about half the qb Peters is.
Peters is much quicker, much more athletic, makes better decisions, is far more consistent, has a much better arm, sees the field better, and is far more accurate with his balls. He knows when to use touch, and when to apply the mustard. Other than those things, Speight has it all over Peters I guess.
I suggest to you that nobody knows these things better than Speight himself. It's why he's leaving. It's also why Brady stayed.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:12 AM ^
The whole second paragraph reads like things you wish Peters was, instead of things we've actually seen. Fan fiction.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:21 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 11:49 AM ^
Let's agree to disagree then.
I believe stat-wise things will improve to your liking, but the only stat I am concerned about is the final score, and he was doing just swimmingly there.
He's going to prove it to you, all he needs is some PT. If he plays against OSU, we win. I assume he'll be ready for the bowl game, which I hope is in San Diego, a short drive from Phoenix for me. We will win that game I bet to finish 9-4, with a monster defense coming back. The OL has to improve, markedly, which they can I believe.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:58 AM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 2:32 PM ^
So if we are having a pickup game of passball today, or doing a 7 on 7, and there are two qbs available, Peters and Speight, and you have first choice, you are taking Speight?
Good luck. You gonna lose.
November 28th, 2017 at 3:18 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 11:57 AM ^
Since you brought it up...what about bad Speight at the beginning of the year, and how does that chapter of his UM career fit in with your argument? Peters' sample size was small, and didn't overwhelm statistically, but I think he won the eye test on the season. If both were healthy for the OSU game, I'd like to have Peters start, and I think he would have.
November 28th, 2017 at 12:07 PM ^
November 28th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^
"Speight is twice the QB Peters is today."
2016 Speight was twice the QB Peters is today.
Peters (by QBR) is about twice the QB Speight is today.
2017 Speight is absolutely not anywhere near the QB that 2016 Speight was. He massively, massively regressed.
November 28th, 2017 at 5:29 PM ^
You're making that declaration on what, five games? With freshmen receivers, and an Oline that was a turnstile at that time. I think he would have settled in very nicely later in the season.
November 28th, 2017 at 11:05 PM ^
So Speight with the 2017 offense...poor receivers, poor OL. Peters with the same offense (minus Black)...great receivers, great OL?
November 29th, 2017 at 8:17 AM ^