Speight's Near-Transfer Story Reminds Harbaugh Of His Own
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
In the span of about 15 months, Wilton Speight has gone from a disgruntled fifth-string quarterback ready to leave Michigan - "I told a bunch of my teammates that I was out," he said - to an emerging Heisman candidate for the third-ranked team in the country.
His coach can relate.
"I remember my own career, there was a time where I wasn't going to play at Michigan and was told that. I called my Dad," Jim Harbaugh told 97.1 The Ticket on Thursday morning. "And it was like deja vu reading what Wilton was saying. That happened to me my sophomore year.
"Tom Brady, I bet he had a few of those talks. But it's a great lesson. You don't want to quit. You don't want to take a knee too early."
Ultimately, things worked out for Harbaugh. He started every game of his last two seasons at Michigan (1985/1986), guiding the Wolverines to a 21-3-1 record and a 1985 Fiesta Bowl victory.
Brady could tell a similar story. He was the seventh-string quarterback when he first enrolled at U-M and served as a backup for his first two seasons. The frustration of standing on the sideline forced him to consider transferring to California.
But Brady stuck it out, earned the starter's job as a junior and promptly lifted Michigan to victories in the Citrus Bowl (1998) and the Orange Bowl (1999) in his final two seasons.
Speight is trending in the direction of his predecessors. He has thrown for over 2,000 yards through Michigan's first nine games, with 15 touchdowns to just three interceptions. Each week he seems to play better than the last.
His intelligence and poise under pressure has earned him the trust of the coaching staff.
"We ask Wilton in games, during the games, what he likes," Harbaugh said. "When the opportunity presents itself, when we're in a TV timeout or a called timeout, we're giving him options. 'You like this? You like that? What do you like right now?' Over the last course of three, four weeks, I've been noticing that dialogue taking place more and more because we really trust him."
Harbaugh was later asked about the Presidential Election, and, unlike Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy, steered clear of the topic.
"First of all, I'm in an apolitical mood," he said. "Today I'm in a mood to support no cause, foreign or domestic, other than our game against Iowa."
The Wolverines travel to Iowa City for a much-anticipated clash with the Hawkeyes on Saturday night.
"It's a very tough place to get a win," Harbaugh said. "Our team's been good, though. Our team's practicing hard, been locked-in all week."