The Wolverine

2015 Football Preview

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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58 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW QUARTERBACKS BY JOHN BORTON T he axiom has echoed off the walls of Schembechler Hall for decades: "You're either getting better, or you're getting worse." In the span of a few months with Jim Harbaugh at the helm, Michigan's quarterback situation got better. Much better. In numbers alone, the Wolverines went from three scholarship quarterbacks to six. Junior Shane Morris, redshirt freshman Wilton Speight and early enrollee true freshman Alex Malzone shared spring practice snaps, but those just became tougher to come by, at least with the top U-M units. Fifth-year senior Iowa transfer Jake Rudock, sophomore Houston transfer John O'Korn and true freshman Zach Gentry raise the bar for everyone. Michigan quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch isn't issuing any apologies, either. "Our philosophy was we're going to take as many quarterbacks that want to come to Michigan as we possibly, feasibly can," Fisch said. "We'll continue that philosophy. "If you want to be the quarterback at Michigan, and you're a very good football player, why shouldn't we take you? We believe whole- heartedly in that." Those battling to jump behind center in the 2015 opener at Utah suddenly face more of a mountain to climb. Fisch hopes they do so without looking around. "It's my hope they can play the position with blinders on," Fisch said. "It's kind of like a horserace. It doesn't matter who is next to them. They should be doing as much as they possibly can do to be the best quarterback they can be, regardless of who is sitting next to them or pushing them." That said, if anybody requires a little extra incentive, it's there. "Not everybody can be internally driven," Fisch offered. "There- fore, the externally driven guys, the ones who need an extra push, TIME TO COMPETE Michigan Fills The QBs Room To Find A Leader Fifth-year senior transfer Jake Rudock had the starting job the past two seasons at Iowa, where he rang up 4,819 yards passing and 34 touchdowns. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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