The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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QUARTERBACKS QUARTERBACKS THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 61 PLAYER BIOS POSITION COACH Pep Hamilton, the Wolverines' assistant head coach and passing game coordina- tor, is heading into his first season with Michigan and the 20th of his coaching career. Hamilton joined the Wolverines following a year as the associate head coach on offense of the Cleve- land Browns. The Browns went 1-15 in 2016 while see- ing Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown and Cody Kessler all start at least three games under center. Prior to working for the Browns, Hamilton was the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts from 2013-15. The team went 11-5 in each of his first two seasons, winning two division titles and appearing in the 2014 AFC Championship Game. During that season, quarterback Andrew Luck led the NFL with 40 touchdown passes, and the team set franchise records for passing yards and net yards, with 4,894 and 6,506 yards, respectively. Hamilton was the quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, Howard University, from 1997-98 and added offensive coordinator duties from 1999-2001. He then served as the wide receivers coach at Stanford University in 2010 and as the offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach in 2011 and 2012, working under Jim Harbaugh in 2010. Hamilton also spent time in the NFL with the Balti- more Ravens as a pro personnel intern in 2002, and with the New York Jets as an offensive quality control coach in 2003 and an offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach in 2004-05. Hamilton was an offensive assistant/ quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2006, prior to becoming the quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears from 2007-09. He has worked with Luck while at Stanford and with the Colts, and has also worked with NFL quarterbacks Kevin Hogan, Alex Smith, Jay Cutler and former Michi- gan quarterback Brian Griese, among others. RETURNING PLAYERS ALEX MALZONE • QB R-So. • Farmington Hills, Mich. Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 224 Career Highlights: Appeared in the game against Hawai'i last fall, but did not record a stat … Red- shirted in 2015. Prep: Played at Birmingham Brother Rice High School … Completed 211 of 325 passes for 2,998 yards with 38 touchdowns as a senior … Listed by Rivals.com as a four-star prospect, the No. 4 player in Michigan and the No. 11 pro-style quarterback in the nation. Personal: Born Oct. 10, 1996 … Enrolled in the Col- lege of Literature, Science and the Arts. JOHN O'KORN • QB 5th-Sr. • Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 215 Career Highlights: Appeared in eight games in 2016 and made one start against Indiana … Sat out the 2015 season after transferring from the University of Houston … Started the first five games of his sophomore season for the Cougars, throwing for 951 yards and six touchdowns … Played in seven of 12 games overall … Performed in all 13 games and started 11 as a true freshman … Set the school's freshman records for completions (259) and touch- down passes (28) … Tied a Houston rookie record with five passing touchdowns at Rutgers. Prep: Played at St. Thomas Aquinas High School … Led his high school team to a state title as a senior, throwing for 2,552 yards and 22 touchdowns with only four interceptions … Also ran 95 times for 576 yards and 15 touchdowns … Rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com … Listed as the No. 34 quarterback na- tionally by 247Sports. Personal: Born Nov. 22, 1994 … Enrolled in the Col- lege of Literature, Science and the Arts, working to- wards a degree in American culture. Year GP/GS Com. Att. Yds. TD INT 2013* 13/11 259 446 3,117 28 10 2014* 7/5 90 173 951 6 8 2015 Sat out due to NCAA transfer rules 2016 8/1 20 34 173 2 0 Totals 28/17 369 653 4,241 36 18 * at Houston BRANDON PETERS • QB R-Fr. • Avon, Ind. Ht.: 6-5 • Wt.: 216 Career Highlights: Did not play in 2016. Prep: Passed for 6,843 yards and 79 touchdowns with 17 intercep- tions in his high school career … As a senior, threw for 3,103 yards and 37 touchdowns with only five interceptions … Named the 2015 Gatorade Player of the Year in Indiana and the state's Mr. Football … Was a finalist for the Maxwell Football Club's National High School Player of the Year, National Gatorade Player of the Year and U.S. Army Player of the Year … Ranked by Rivals.com as a four-star prospect, the No. 3 senior in Indiana, and the No. 6 pro-style quarterback and No. 158 overall player nationally. Personal: Born Oct. 15, 1997 … Enrolled in the Col- lege of Literature, Science and Arts. WILTON SPEIGHT • QB R-Jr. • Richmond, Va. Ht.: 6-6 • Wt.: 243 Career Highlights: Has played in 19 career games with 12 starts … Was voted Most Improved Player by the Michigan coaches in 2016 … Tabbed as a semifinalist for the 2016 Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award, annually given to the nation's top signal-caller … Named All-Big Ten third team by the coaches and media … Completed 204 of 331 passes for 2,538 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions … Earned U-M's Offensive Player of the Game honor four times (UCF, Penn State, Illinois and Maryland) and was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week twice (UCF and Maryland) … Directed an attack that ranked 11th nationally in scoring with an average of 40.3 points per game … Led the game-winning scoring drive at Minnesota in 2015, completing 3 of 6 passes for 29 yards with a touchdown … Appeared in six games as a reserve quarterback as a redshirt freshman … Finished the 2015 season 9-of-25 passing for 73 yards with one touchdown and one interception … Redshirted in 2014. Prep: Played at The Collegiate School … Completed 182 of 349 passes for 2,845 yards (8.2 yards per at- tempt) with 33 touchdowns and 14 picks as a senior … Tacked on 78 rushes for 292 yards and six scores … Won the 2013 Prep League Offensive Player of the Year award and earned Richmond Times-Dispatch All-Metro Team honors … The three-star recruit was listed as Virginia's No. 27 prospect by Rivals.com. Personal: Born Dec. 6, 1994 … Enrolled in the Col- lege of Literature, Science and the Arts. Year GP/GS Com. Att. Yds. TD INT 2015 7/0 9 25 73 1 1 2016 12/12 204 331 2538 18 7 Totals 19/12 213 356 2611 19 8 NEWCOMERS DYLAN MCCAFFREY • QB Fr. • Castle Rock, Colo. Ht.: 6-5 • Wt.: 197 Prep: As a senior, passed for 2,796 yards and 31 touchdowns with five interceptions, and was named Colorado's Gatorade Football Player of the Year … Selected to the USA Today All-USA Colorado first team as a junior and senior … Threw for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns with four interceptions as a junior … Also carried the ball 128 times for 592 yards and 13 touchdowns as well as posting two receiv- ing touchdowns … Was 46-9 as a starter in his high school career … Played in four straight Class 5A state title games, winning as a freshman, junior and senior … Rivals.com ranked McCaffrey as the No. 1 player in Colorado, and the No. 7 pro-style quarterback and the No. 131 overall player in the nation. Personal: Born March 25, 1999 … His father Ed played in the NFL with three different teams, winning the Super Bowl three times … His brother Max played receiver at Duke and is currently with the Green Bay Packers … His brother Christian played running back for Stanford and was the No. 8 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. ROSTER No. Name Ht. Wt. Year Elig. Hometown (High School) 12 Alex Malzone 6-2 224 Jr. So. Farmington Hills, Mich. (Brother Rice) — Dylan McCaffrey 6-5 197 Fr. Fr. Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Valor Christian) 15 Garrett Moores* 6-5 217 5th Sr. Northville, Mich. (Catholic Central) 8 John O'Korn 6-4 215 5th Sr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas) 18 Brandon Peters 6-5 216 So. Fr. Avon, Ind. (Avon) 6 Michael Sessa* 6-8 205 So. Fr. Hinsdale, Ill. (Hinsdale Central) 3 Wilton Speight 6-6 243 Sr. Jr. Richmond, Va. (The Collegiate School) * — Walk-on