Michigan Football Spring Game Takeaways: Speight Ready to Lead, Morris at WR?

Spring Football has come to an end for the Michigan Wolverines after a 14-13 victory for the Maize team on a Friday night in Ann Arbor.

Here are the takeaways:

Speight's Race to Lose?

Not to write off anyone prematurely, but it is clear the starting quarterback battle in Ann Arbor is a two-horse race between Wilton Speight (5-6, 46 yds, TD, 2 rushes, 19 yards, TD) and John O'Korn (6-14, 93 yds, 7 rushes, 28 yds, TD) with the former at the front of the conversation where we stand today.

Throwing the numbers aside, Speight looks every bit the calm, collected player we saw help win a game in relief at Minnesota last year and he seems very comfortable running an offense. Many pegged O'Korn as the favorite coming into this battle, but it is far from decided.

Speight may not have exactly pulled away, but he is very much in the mix, and maybe even in the driver's seat, to start in the season opener against Hawaii.

Ty Isaac Improved

Running back Ty Isaac had a tough go of things last season, but appears refocused and ready to be more of a factor in Michigan's run game in 2016. He finished the day with 78 yards rushing on ten carries, one of which went for 30 yards.

He was a bit quicker and more shifty than we had seen last season on Friday night. He has had a good spring and the coaches have been pleased with his progress and he certainly backed that up during the game.

De'Veon Smith, who did not play Friday, should be the starter when the season starts, but Isaac looks like he will have a say in the rotation this fall, assuming he stays healthy and can hold on to the football.

Sugar Shane the Skill Player?

Shane Morris took his fair share of snaps at quarterback on Friday night, but where he turned heads the most was when he lined up at wide receiver a la former MSU player Keith Nichol.

He had a few snaps as a wideout and actually caught a pass for 25 yards late in the game. Speight said after the game that last season while he and Rudock warmed up in practice, Morris would run routes and catch passes with them while the skill players were in special teams and that he hardly ever dropped a pass. Apparently, that caught the coaching staff's eye enough to at least entertain the idea of utilizing the former standout prospect in a different way.

It remains to be seen if this is a position change of sorts they decide to make moving forward, but he is athletic enough to perhaps get some run out there as a skill player. We will see what happens, but it looks more likely he makes an impact there than at quarterback.

Defensive Backs Continue to Shine

Michigan boasts an excellent defense with one of the best secondaries in the nation, so it is no surprise that they looked very good during the spring game.

Jourdan Lewis is an All-American player, but Channing Stribling and Jeremy Clark stood out as guys that look like great compliments to him and are working at getting more consistent.

Dymonte Thomas has picked up where he left off last season as a playmaker at the back end of the defense. He had an impressive interception in the endzone on a well-placed ball by Morris.

Tyree Kinnel stood out as a player ready to step in when called upon. He looked good in coverage and also as a run-stopper, which was something he showed on his high school film. He looks like a player that could thrive in Don Brown's scheme.

The Tight Ends are Athletic

This was one of my takeaways after the practice in Detroit last weekend, but it is really impressive just how much more athletic the Wolverines have gotten at tight end since Jim Harbaugh took over. Jake Butt and Ian Bunting right now look like the top two, but  Khalid Hill, TJ Wheatley and Zach Gentry continue to make strides and look like players who have a role on this team when their number is called on.

We will have more on the spring game throughout the weekend. What did you see on Friday night? Sound off in the comments below!