Michigan football doesn’t have a depth chart for the public to see, nor do they have a proclaimed starting quarterback. Conventional wisdom can be incorrect and dangerous, and that wisdom would lead to the belief that Wilton Speight is the heavy favorite to be Michigan’s starting quarterback since he was last season.
Not so fast, I say. As Michigan’s offensive coordinator Tim Drevno told the media today how the team is currently splitting reps at the position:
Drevno says equal reps for qbs right now
— angelique (@chengelis) August 3, 2017
Drevno also noted that it’s been very good competition thus far, as the quarterbacks are throwing the ball well, leading well, and focusing in meetings. “We go through the practice and say, ‘We’re gonna put this guy in these four plays and these four plays and these four plays,’ and it’s equally divided. No favoritism. It’s, ‘Hey, we’re rolling the balls out, we’ll see who the best guys are’’”
Michigan is in its first week of practices, so equal reps aren’t exactly a surprise. However, it also shows, just as Drevno stated, there is no favoritism. It’s a clean slate. Last year does not matter. What matters is the practice at hand, and the practice thereafter.
Nothing has been decided, so nothing should be assumed either. If Brandon Peters performs better this month than Speight, he will be the starting quarterback, and the same goes for Speight performing better. The best man will win the job. John O’Korn is also in the mix, and we’ll see if he has really upped his game since last year at this time, when he narrowly lost the job to Speight.
Don’t put too much stock into Speight’s starting experience. He didn’t have any last season, while John O’Korn did, yet Speight won the job. Experience is a good check mark to have, but it isn’t entirely necessary. Peters may very well have a incredibly high ceiling that the coaching staff see being worth the reward/risk of starting him against Florida to start the season.
Equal reps. No favoritism. May the best man win. We will find out who the starter is soon enough.