The Wolverine

May 2017 Issue

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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MAY 2017 THE WOLVERINE 35   MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Glasgow picked off and returned 100 yards for a touchdown. He referred to a couple of "bone- headed" decisions he made, trying to make a play when he shouldn't have done so. Speight assured he'll learn from it. Speight waved off any opportunity to minimize Peters' performance. To the contrary, he praised the second- year Wolverine and stressed that it's good to see him doing what he did, saying the redshirt freshman enjoyed a "tremendous" day. For his own part, it's a day Speight will look to quickly move past. "It's just one day," he said. "In saying that, I feel very good about how the spring went. The chemistry I have with Coach Pep [Hamilton, the new passing game coordinator, is good]. Obviously, you saw a little bit of lack of chemistry with the younger guys and some receivers out there today that will get ironed out. "We've still got four practices left this spring, and we've got all sum- mer to figure that out before camp. I feel good about it. It doesn't hap- pen in a few practices. You'll build a chemistry through the spring, but also this offseason will be huge, go- ing into fall camp to get it right." Speight wasn't behind the first- team line much at all, and neither was Peters, given the split-squad nature of the spring game. They'll both see better protection down the road, although Speight noted what he faced says very good things about the defense Don Brown is putting together. Plus, with touch sacks, it took away from the quarterbacks' ability to scramble away and make a play. On the other hand, it kept them from getting clocked. "The first line was in a series here or there," Speight said. "It was kind of split up. We're not live inside the pocket, and some of the best things I can do are to improvise and make something out of nothing. It's the spring game — a good learning ex- perience for everyone." The bottom line, Speight noted, is that Michigan is putting together a strong offense and team, and the Wolverines will be only getting better over the next several months. "The sky's the limit," Speight said. "We've got a lot of young talent and a few veteran guys leading the way." BRANDON PETERS IS NOT BACKING DOWN FROM THE COMPETITION Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters became the talk of Michigan's spring game, given his 55-yard touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore tight end Zach Gentry and other heroics. Peters ran in a 12-yard touchdown himself, and enjoyed a 9-of-17 passing performance for 160 yards on the day. Afterwards, he admitted he's looking to become Michigan's starting quar- terback. "Of course [I want the job]," Peters said, after leading his Maize squad to a 31-29 victory. "Why would I not want that?" Peters came away from Michigan's one public scrimmage of the spring feeling confident. He did pitch a pick- six to redshirt junior defensive back Brandon Watson, but other than that he performed solidly all afternoon. "I felt pretty good, except for that interception," he said. "Overall, I had a good day. I was making good reads, getting what I could. The offense ex- ecuted, so that was good — especially on the two-minute drill." Certainly, redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight holds the upper hand in the QB competition, especially after leading the Wolverines to a 10-win sea- son a year ago. But Speight referenced a post-Super Bowl Tom Brady quote about having to be in the New England Patriots' football building every day so someone doesn't take his job. If Brady takes that approach, every quarterback should, Speight indicated. Meanwhile, Peters is looking to carve out time for himself in the Michigan offense. "I just have to be confident and show them that I know what I'm doing out there," Peters said. "I think I just need to keep working hard and competing. Nothing is guaranteed." There are no redshirt considerations this season, and Peters has a year in head coach Jim Harbaugh's system under his belt. So there is no concern about putting him in a game at any time this year, and he's ready for that scenario. "There's no holding back," Peters said. "I'd love to be on the field. That's what I'm working for every day. It's a competition. "As long as I keep being more com- fortable and more vocal, confident at the line of scrimmage, make my calls and really show that I know what I'm doing, that will go a long way." Peters also noted, when pressed, that his spring game effort wasn't an aber- ration, although he's experienced days of struggle as well. "I've had some good practices and some bad," he said. "Today, I guess, was one of my good practices. I'm get- ting better. I've gotten 10 times better since last year." Peters, like Speight and fifth-year Redshirt freshman Brandon Peters — who was listed as a four-star prospect, and the No. 6 pro-style quarterback and No. 158 overall prospect nationally by Rivals.com — is quickly liv- ing up to his lofty recruiting rankings. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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