The Wolverine

September 2016

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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42 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2016 Redshirt junior John O'Korn played in 20 games for Houston from 2013-14, including 16 starts, and compiled 4,068 passing yards with 34 scoring tosses. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL fourth quarter, before a riled-up sta- dium packed with those anticipating an upset. Speight had delivered all of five passes in his college career at that juncture. Now Michigan called on him to get the job done. The redshirt freshman delivered. He completed 3 of 4 throws on a seven-play, 40-yard, game-winning drive. He gunned the go-ahead touch- down pass to wideout Jehu Chesson from 12 yards out, then found wide- out Amara Darboh for the two-point conversion toss. Those extra points proved crucial, forcing the Gophers to try and score a touchdown to avoid overtime. Michi- gan made a goal-line stand at the end of the game, and Speight enjoyed a sterling memory. It's not one he's willing to rest upon. "That was huge," Speight said. "To be able to go into a hostile environ- ment on the road like that in a rivalry game, I built on that a lot. Coach Har- baugh kept reiterating that I was able to do that. Why not again, and why not next season? "I felt good about that performance, and I know I can do more. Hopefully, this season I'll be able to show that." Speight's collegiate bottom line isn't extensive: 9-of-25 passing for 73 yards with one very big touchdown. Subbing for an injured Rudock in the second half against Ohio State, Spei- ght connected on 6 of 14 throws for 44 yards with an interception. He's now well grounded in Michi- gan's system, according to Fisch, and very serious about the business of winning the job. "Wilton is somebody that has re- ally matured over a year," Fisch said. "Going into last year's camp, he was a much different person than he is going into this year's camp. He's ma- ture, he's taken on a lot of responsi- bility. "The obvious game against Min- nesota gave him a ton of confidence. He is excited about it. He's excited about the fact that that's not going to be the only touchdown he ever throws for Michigan. That's his mind- set — 'That's not going to be my last touchdown.'" "He's the first one to say great job, but he'll make sure you're grounded," Speight said of Fisch. "He always reminds me, 'You don't

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