Saturday, October 14, 2017

Backing up the Backup

There were many questions surrounding John O'Korn as he led Michigan into a matchup against arch-rival Michigan State.  But by game's end, the biggest question O'Korn seemed to answer was "How bad would he need to play to make everyone miss Wilton Speight?"

O'Korn had served as the Michigan backup since his transfer from Houston.  Like all backup QB's, especially those with past success, O'Korn was imbued with all the qualities the current starter didn't have.  So when Speight struggled, thoughts turned to the backup.  With Speight injured and out of the lineup, O'Korn got his chance.  Meh.

It's now Year 3 of the Jim Harbaugh Era.  Along with the rest of Michigan Nation, I was very excited when Harbaugh returned home to coach the Wolverines.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm still a Harbaugh fan and don't think anyone else should be coaching Michigan.  But that doesn't mean he can't be questioned.

My biggest question: where's our Andrew Luck?  Graduate transfer Jake Rudock filled a gap at QB and allowed Harbaugh to recruit the next great Michigan signal-caller.  Speight, already on the roster when Harbaugh arrived, has performed well but certainly not without flaws since becoming the starter.  But with Speight out, possibly for the season, and O'Korn still looking like a backup, is there an opportunity to audition the next Luck?

I'm not expecting Harbaugh to throw in the towel and play an untested QB... at least, not yet.  But with Penn State looming on the schedule, would a 5-2 record be enough to make a change?  After Penn State, the Wolverines face Big Ten foes Rutgers, Minnesota and Maryland: a combined 1-5 so far in conference play.  Wouldn't that be a low-risk opportunity to give Brandon Peters a shot?  Would it be a bad thing to let Peters get some experience against some lesser opponents, in the hopes that he'd be ready to face Wisconsin and Ohio State by season's end?  I sure wouldn't want to see what O'Korn will do.