Welcome Cameron McGrone

Michigan Adds Cameron McGrone (2018) 

Written By: @VinnyRico_

The Facts

Newest Michigan football commit for the 2018 class is Cameron McGrone from Indianapolis, Indiana. He is ranked as the 14^th best outside linebacker in the country and the 217^th best prospect overall in the composite rankings. Although, 247 sports has him ranked as high as 3^rd best OLB and 40^th best player overall in the country. Most likely the reason for the huge discrepancy in the rankings is the fact that he tore his ACL six games into his JR year. Both McGrone and his coaches say that is back at 100% now heading into his final season of high school ball. He has descent size at 6’1 215 and runs between a 4.47 – 4.67 (both times listed on different sites), which if you split the difference is a pretty good time for a LB. It remains to be seen if he will retain that speed coming back from a serious injury but neither McGrone nor his coaches seemed worried. He is the second LB in this class with Otis Reese being recruited to play the viper position.

The Person

Cam has been described as a leader and the most NFL ready player his coach has ever worked with. Prior to his injury, he was the leader of the defense and a team captain. His coaches have stated he has the mentality to play at the next level. He’s team oriented, self-motivated, hard working, and a great student. He’s currently taking AP and honors classes and plans to study kinesiology, physical therapy, or sports medicine. He said of himself that he’s “great on the field, but even better greater in the classroom.” Regardless of if he ever starts for the Wolverines, I love what he brings to the team in terms of his intangibles. Leaders are hard to come by and leadership is one of the most important traits for a linebacker to have.

The Tape

McGrone is a great fit in this defense as a weak side LB in my opinion. He is constantly in the backfield. Always fighting through blocks. He would eat in Don Brown’s blitz heavy packages. He has the speed to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. He’s the prototypical linebacker the staff has been recruiting; fast, aggressive, downhill, and athletic. He is constantly moving. Once he makes up his mind on where he’s going, he arrives with a thump. He reminds me a lot of Mike McCray. He’s not the biggest hitter, a la Josh Metellus, but does make his presence known and is a sure tackler. Cam is a relentless worker who plays whistle to whistle. When he’s not blitzing, he’s patient and trusts his eyes. There isn’t much tape of him in coverage, but he back pedals well and keeps his eyes on the QB when in zone. He plays bigger than his 6’1 215 frame and can be seen throwing blockers to the wayside to get to his target.

The Summary

Cameron McGrone is a good pick up for the staff. Once he gets back on the field, don’t be surprised if he shoots up the rankings. This kid can play and wants to get better. At 215 pounds, I do expect him to put on some more muscle when he gets to campus. He will thrive both on and off the field in the competitive atmosphere that Harbaugh has built around this team. Welcome to the Michigan Family Cameron McGrone, you’ve made a great lifetime decision. Go Blue!

Defensive Line University

DLU

Written By: @HarbaughWeTrust

Yesterday, Michigan picked up a commitment from another highly rated defensive lineman. Stephen Herron Jr. Stephen is a 5-Star commit and he's rated as the #4 Weak-Side Defensive End in the entire country. 

Herron was just another addition to an already stacked defensive line unit. Greg Mattison has to be licking his chops with all of the talent in Ann Arbor right now.

Update: On August 5th Michigan received a commitment from 5-Star Christopher Hinton. Chris is the # 1 ranked WDE & the # 9 overall prospect in the 2019 class.

In the 2016 NFL Draft, 3 UM DLmen were drafted. Taco Charlton who went round 1 #28 overall to the Dallas Cowboys, he was a former 4-Star recruit. Chris Wormley who went round 3 #10 overall to the Baltimore Ravens, also a former 4-star recruit. Then last but not least, Ryan Glasgow (a former walk-on) who went round 4 #31 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. Michigan also has several other DLMen in the NFL: Brandon Graham (Eagles), Frank Clark (Seahawks), Willie Henry (Ravens), and Alan Branch (Patriots).

Despite losing 3 starters to the NFL I don't expect the DL to miss a beat. I have no doubts that the DL should still be Michigan's best unit on defense. Mo Hurst, who was one of the best backups in nation will be helming the middle of that defensive line. Rashan Gary, who is primed to have a an enormous break-out season. He is the former #1 overall recruit in the 2016 class. Chase Winovich had a really nice last season. He accounted for 5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for a loss. I also expect Aubrey Solomon to make an impact as a true freshmen. He and Rashan are going to be absolute terrors for opposing Offensive Linemen. I also have a high hopes for Bryan Mone. We need him to stay injury free this season. Bryan has been battling injuries during most of his college career. Also, look out for true freshman, Luiji Vilain, he is another young guy who could come in and make an immediate impact.

There's no doubt that Michigan has the deepest defensive line in the country. James Hudon, Donovan Jeter, Derron Irving-Bey, Ron Johnson, Michael Dwumfour, Carlo Kemp, Kwitty Paye Joshua Ache, Lawrence Marshall, and Phillp Paea. That's a very scary bench!

Michigan's Defensive Line looks to be set for years to come! Us Wolverines fans owe a lot to Greg Mattison, who is one of the best defensive minds in all of Football!

Michigan's 2019 Class Starts Off Strong

Michigan Adds 2

Nolan Rumer (2019)

Earlier today Michigan received a commitment from 4-Star Offensive Lineman, Nolan Rumler out of Akron, Ohio! He is the #15 ranked offensive lineman and the #123 overall prospect in the 2019 class. Check out his commitment post here. 

Nolan's Highlights

Stephen Herron Jr. (2019)

Just now Michigan received a commitment from 5-Star Defensive End, Stephen Herron Jr. out of Louisville, Kentucky! He is the #4 ranked weak-side defensive end and the #34 overall prospect in the 2019 class. Check out his commitment post here.

Stephen's Highlights

Freshmen Freshmen Freshmen!

The New Guys

Our newest Wolverines from the 2017 class have their jersey numbers!

Jordan Anthony (LB) #1

Oliver Martin (WR) #2

Brad Robbins (P) #3

Nico Collins (WR) #4

Kurt Taylor (RB) #5

Aubrey Solomon (DT) #5

Tarik Black (WR) #7

Drew Singleton (LB) #8

Donovan Peoples-Jones (WR) #9

Dylan McCaffrey (QB) #10

Josh Ross (LB) #12

Ambry Thomas (CB) #13

Josh Metellus (S) switched to #14

Jaylen Kelly-Powell (S) #16

Luiji Vilain (WDE) #18

Kwity Paye (WDE) #19

Brad Hawkins (S) #20

O'Maury Samuels (RB) #23

Benjamin St-Juste (CB) #25

J'Marick Woods (S) #28

Deron Irving-Bey (SDE) #28

Phillip Paea (DT) #31

Ben Mason (FB/LB) #42

Cesar Ruiz (C) #51

James Hudson (SDE) #55

Chuck Filiaga (OT) #66

Ja'Raymond Hall (OT) #73

Grant Perry (WR) switched to #88

Donovan Jeter (SDE) #95

Another Michigan Season Prediction

Semi-Early Michigan Season Predictions

 Written By: Jared Bouck (@MichiganBoyAA)  

Can you feel it Michigan football fans? The season is almost here. In a little more then a month, 42 days to be exact, players donning the Maize and Blue, and Blue and Orange will lace up the cleats, put on the fitted helmets and kick-off what should be another great year, starting in Jerry's World. As the great Bob Ufer once said "football is a religion and Saturday is the holy day of obligation". Michigan is poised for a rebuilding year, according to national pundits, but I like the word "reload" much better. This team is going to be faster and stronger then any team we've seen in awhile, BUT, much like with every new team, we will have some growing pains. We're going to go through the schedule one by one and see if we can find them in this edition of early season predictions.

September 2nd, Florida

Here it is folks, game one, and it's not the sisters of the poor. This is our first chance to see all the progress and work these young kids have put on during the summer. Florida, much like us, is a very young team. This game is strength on strength, two powerhouses going at it on national TV. Expect to see a defensive slug fest in the first half, with Florida taking a 17-7 lead at halftime, showing their more experienced offense. Michigan adjust's just enough in the second half and scores 2 TD's in the 3rd, making it 21-17. Florida gets an early TD in the 4th to take the lead once more. But Michigan finds magic late as they score the final TD with 2 minutes left.

W-28-24

September 9th, Cincinnati 

Luke Fickell will lead this team into the Big House, in his first season. Not exactly a good welcoming. I don't expect much from a team that went 4-8 last year, even though they did earn a nice win over Purdue. Expect this game to be over quickly. 

W-45-13

September 16th, Air Force

This is the tricky one, a potential trap game before Big Ten play starts. Air Force runs the triple option, a very tough offense to stop in its own right, even harder when most of the defense is new. Expect some defensive frustration in the first half. I could see Air Force easily scoring 20+ on this Michigan defense. But expect the Michigan offense to make up for it in a big way. 

W-41-27

September 23rd, Purdue

Jeff Brohm, oh boy, what did you get yourself into? I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Brohm was able to do at WKU, that being said, the B1G schedule makers did Purdue absolutely no favors as Brohm's first B1G game is Michigan. Hey at least you get them at home! All in all, it's Purdue. Don't expect much more then a little "first year confidence" and a tad bit more fight then usual. This should be an easy win for Michigan 

W-48-7

October 7th, Michigan State

What an off-season for our rivals to the west, after an absolutely dismal 2016 season in which we saw the Spartans plateau at 3 wins and 9 losses. After allegations against players for issues that I won't get into, it seems that Mark Dantonio will hardly have a team to field this year. That being said, Michigan is the circled game on that green and white calendar in East Lansing. They are going to come at us with everything they have. After a close first half, expect to see Michigan's superior strength, speed and overall talent to show up as they start to pull away.

W-31-14

October 14th, Indiana

Indiana hasn't beaten a Michigan team since 1987, for those counting, that's 30 years. Indiana has given us some scares over the years, and some absolute instant classics, that won't happen this year. After a late season scandal that booted Kevin Wilson, Tom Allen took over and gave Utah the fight of their life in the bowl game, but let's be honest, Allen has an uphill climb in Bloomington, the defense should be stingy but lack of overall talent, and frankly coaching, is going to be tough to overcome. Michigan sails.

W-38-10

October 21st, Penn State

Oh boy, this is a big one. Last year, Penn State cruised to victories over Ohio State and Wisconsin and claimed A Big Ten Championship, something that has eluded the Wolverines since 2004. Michigan dismantled Penn State last year 49-10, after that game, the two teams went in two completely different directions, Michigan lost 2 games by the end of the season and Penn State rolled until an eventual loss to USC in the Rose Bowl. Don't expect a beat down like that this year. Happy Valley will be rocking for this white out game, this will be the Wolverines first real test in a hostile environment. This will be a great game, but Michigan is still too young. It will take everything in Penn States power to beat Michigan, but I think they get it done and hand a likely top 10 Wolverines team their first loss of the season.

L-27-24

October 28th, Rutgers

After a heartbreaking loss to Penn State, Michigan will have a chance to exercise some demons against the team we've all come to love, Rutgers. After a 78-0 skull dragging in last years game, Rutgers is going to want some revenge, but they're going to be disappointed. I don't think I need to say much else, it's Rutgers.

W-56-3

November 4th, Minnesota 

P. J. Fleck, you've made quite a name for yourself good sir! After taking every Michigan fans second favorite team, Western Michigan, to one of the greatest seasons they've ever had, he finally gets his chance at the big boy table. I have tremendous respect for Minnesota and what they became under coach Kill and coach Claeys, I really hope to see that continue under coach Fleck, just not against Michigan. Minnesota should be a good team this year with maybe the best group of runningbacks in the Big Ten. The potential for another thriller like in 2015 is exciting, but shouldn't happen this year. Tough battle but Michigan pulls away late.

W-34-17

November 11th, Maryland

What a job coach Durkin has done at Maryland, it seems as though some of the Harbaugh magic has rubbed off on Durkin, he took Maryland from dumpster fire to average in just one year, will he make another jump in 2017? Only time will tell. This game is AT Maryland so that poses a bit of an advantage, but much like other teams on this list, overall talent and coaching leads to a rather easy win for Michigan.

W-41-17

November 18th, Wisconsin 

Michigan and Wisconsin played an absolute instant classic last year, with Michigan winning 14-7 in a defensive slug fest of two heavy hitters, and I expect the exact same this year. This game scares me for many reasons, one of them being that I think Chryst is the most underrated coach in the Big Ten, another being Hornibrook. The freshman QB had his fair share of playing time last year and was above average for a first timer. I expect another year of development will make him one of the best in the Big Ten this year. Camp Randall is one of the toughest places in America to win a football game and much like the Penn State game, that might be a tad much for this still young Michigan team. I'm taking Wisconsin this year. 

L-21-17

November 25th, Ohio State

This is it folks, The Game, the greatest rivalry in Sports. "That school up north" and "the suckeyes". Who doesn't love a good old fashioned rivalry like this? Hmm well us Michigan fans haven't been too keen on it for awhile now, and that's because Ohio State has had our number, period. I'm one of the 90% around America who believe last years game was an atrocity, and a shame to great college referees everywhere, the better team lost that day. But forget about all of that, it's a new year and two new teams, this is the game where everything is put on the line, hearts and dreams are left on that field, the two states stop for about 3 hours for the most glorious rivalry in sports. This is a home game for Michigan and you better believe they want revenge. Ohio State is Ohio State, they're elite. The great thing is, Michigan proves they can play with the best every year, and that's why Michigan finally gets its win against Ohio State, its first win in 6 years against the dreaded scarlet and grey. Michigan needs to fight "tooth and nail". For every yard Ohio State gets, Michigan needs to get two. No more interceptions, no more fumbles or bad mistakes, take the game out of the refs hands. Play better then the refs ref -Rich Eisen. Michigan will get this win, believe it.

W-34-31

At 10-2, does Michigan get into the B1G championship? Let me know what your predictions are for the season @MichiganBoyAA on twitter 

Expected Visitors for Michigan's Annual BBQ

Expected

(ratings are based on 247)

Michigan Commits

Emil Ekiyor (Indianapolis, IN) 4-Star OT #5 overall OG (committed)

Myles Sims (Atlanta, GA) 4-Star CB #39 overall CB (committed)

Jalen Mayfield (Grand Rapids, MI) 4-Star OT #7 overall OT (committed)

Christian Turner (Buford, GA) 3-Star RB #23 overall RB (committed)

Gemon Green (DeSoto, TX) 3-Star CB #38 overall CB (committed)

German Green (DeSoto, TX) 3-Star CB #89 overall CB (committed)

Players Not Committed 

Cameron McGrone (Indianapolis, IN) 4-Star LB #3 overall OLB (2018)

Michael Thompson (St. Louis, MO) 4-Star DT #5 overall DT (2018)

Bryan Addison (Gardena, CA) 4-Star ATH #3 overall ATH (2018)

Rafiti Ghirmai (Frisco, TX) 4-Star OT #25 overall OT (2018)

Quavaris Crouch (Charlotte, NC) 5-Star RB #2 overall RB (2019)

J.T. Daniels (Santa Ana, CA) 5-Star QB #1 overall QB (2019)

Nolan Rumler (Akron, OH) 4-Star OT #15 overall OT (2019)

Kyle Ford (Anaheim, CA) 5-Star WR #4 overall WR (2019)

Stephen Herron (Louisville, KY) 5-Star DE #4 overall WDE (2019)

Jerrion Ealy (Jackson, MS) 4-Star RB #11 overall RB (2019)

Isaiah Williams (St. Louis, MO) 4-Star ATH #3 overall ATH (2019)

Shammond Cooper (St. Louis, MO) 4-Star LB #11 overall OLB (2019)

Marcus Washington (St. Louis, MO) 4-Star WR #13 overall WR (2019)

Marvin Grant (Detroit, MI) 4-Star S #6 overall S (2019)

David Bell (Indianapolis, IN) 4-Star WR #11 overall WR (2019)

Logan Brown (Grand Rapids, MI) 4-Star OT #10 overall OT (2019)

George Karlaftis (West Lafayette, IN) 4-Star DE #22 overall SDE (2019)

Nazi Smith (Grand Rapids, MI) 4-Star DT #10 overall DT (2019)

Trevor Keegan (Crystal Lake, IL) 4-Star OL #7 overall OL (2019)

David Bell (Indianapolis, IN) 4-Star WR #11 overall WR (2019)


There are A LOT of big time visitors to put it lightly. Hopefully Michigan makes an impression with all of them!

Some Thoughts on Chris Evans

Chris Evans

Written By: Josh LaFond (@JoshLaFond)

Chris Evans grew up a Buckeye fan, and going to Ohio State was always his dream. But in June of 2015 a man we all Jim Harbaugh hosted a satellite camp which Evans decided to attend, and as they say, “the rest is history.”
Michigan hasn't had a dominant running back since Mike Hart walked off the field for the last time. In my eyes, though, Chris Evans can be the heir to the Hart throne. That being said, why do I think that Evans can be successful as the starting running back, and what kind of numbers do I see him posting in the 2017-18 campaign? Let's take a look.

Vision:

Having the vision to look for the hole in the defense, and hit it is something that is somewhat rare in the college landscape today.

From his first play against his Hawaii - where he waited patiently for the block, made a move, and then burst forward for a generous gain that resulted in a first down - it was apparent that he had the aforementioned vision to identify those gaps in the defense and exploit them. As the season went on he continued to show this innate ability to find those weaknesses.

Another perfect example of his vision would be his touchdown run against Florida State in the Orange Bowl (seen at the 3:00 mark). Although it didn't end up winning the game for Michigan, it might be the most beautiful run I've ever seen. He showed the patience again by waiting for the hole to open up, made that beautiful juke we all remember, and then cut to the outside where he knew he would have the space to beat the last defender.

Speed & Quickness:

Vision isn't Evans only exceptional attribute, though. To be a successful collegiate running back you not only need to find the window, you need to be able to get through it before it closes. You can see some of that speed and quickness in the links I shared in the last subheading, but you really see more of it in the highlights of the Hawaii, Rutgers, Maryland, and Florida State games.

Michigan’s starting running back last year (who I won't name) may have had heart, but he didn't have an ounce of speed or quickness within him. Chris Evans will bring flash and flare that hasn't been seen in a Wolverine backfield in a long, long time.

Elusiveness:

Being able to evade would be tacklers is a combination of the aforementioned skills; vision, and speed & quickness. This is a attribute that the truly great backs in college football have. The ability to slip off a defender like you took a bath is cooking oil has always amazed me, and Chris Evans does this so well.

Season Projections:

Rushing Yards: 1,200 Touchdowns: 10 Receiving Yards: 400 Receiving Touchdowns: 4

I've long said that Chris Evans would have a great campaign this upcoming season, and I see that coming to fruition. 

With the addition of Pep Hamilton’s play calling, and Coach Harbaugh speaking on the record that they will feature more spread looks (as we in the spring game, will include Evans lined up in the slot as a receiver), it should aid Chris in posting a solid statistical season.

Adding to my previous comment about Chris lined up as a receiver... I see him getting at least a couple touches a game. He has the speed, the agility, and the hands to make a grab and go. Couple that with him in the slot, the screen passes he's going to get out of the backfield, and that's why I see him performing well as a receiver.

The running back depth chart may be loaded top to bottom, but when you have a special talent like Chris Evans, you find a way to keep the ball in his hands... and that's exactly what Michigan will do. 

Chris Evans Pt.2

Written By: Jared Bouck (@MichiganBoyAA)        

         "His name is Chris Evans" the color commentator announces as #12 steps onto the field for the first time. The date is September 3rd, 2016. The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors didn't know it, but they were part of a special day, even if the 63-3 drubbing didn't quite feel like it. They were the first opponent to have the "glorious" opportunity to stop Chris Evans, freshman sensation. With 3:12left in the first quarter, Evans converted a 3rd and 2 with ease. Evans finished the day with 122 yards on 8 carries and 2 touchdowns, his first game. Flash-forward 14 weeks and Evans is scoring the "go-ahead" touchdown against Florida State with a minute left on the biggest stage he's ever played on, Michigan lost but the point in moot, Chris Evans is a star in the making.

        Stop reading this article for a second, go to YouTube or whatever media streaming website your Wolverine heart desires, and look up Saquon Barkley highlights, then Chris Evans highlights, you tell me the difference. Now, I'm not saying Evans is even close to the level Barkley, heisman contender, is....yet. But the magic word is "potential". He was one of the more overlooked recruits of the 2016 class, coming out of Ben Davis high school in Indiana. Evans finished the year with 88 caries, 614 yards and 4 touchdowns in a stuffed backfield, not bad for a player who was expected to redshirt. 

         I'm not going to bash Brady Hoke or any former regime, that's not why I'm writing this piece, but with Jim Harbaugh in place, we've seen players like Chris Evans, Eddie McDoom, Rashan Gary, and Devin Bush, players with REAL speed, speed that the Wolverines haven't seen in, hmm any takers? The point is, players like Chris Evans are what is going to take this team to the next level. We want to win like OSU, Alabama, Clemson right? It's almost a feeling of euphoria to have a coach that can take us there when it seemed the previous two regimes had such trouble. 

         Karan Higdon, Ty Isaac, Chris Evans, Kareem Walker, get used to hearing those names. I'll be completely honest, the passing game is going to take some time, Wilton can deliver, but the timing between him and his new set of 4 and 5 star receivers needs some "in-game" experience to really become deadly. Players like Chris Evans and Karan Higdon NEED to step up against Florida, Air Force, Cincinnati etc. and I believe they will, I've never heard anyone complain about 250 rushing yards per game, have you? 

       Are you listening ESPN? Are you listening Fox? You're going to be saying #12's name a lot the next few years. That 5'9 200lb kid from Indianapolis? He's the next Michigan man for you to salivate over. Long gone are the days of Denard Robinson and Jabrill Peppers. It's Chris Evans turn. Pop quiz, who is the last Michigan running back to eclipse that elusive 1000 yard mark in one season? Anyone? Fitzgerald Toussaint 2011. 6 YEARS! That's over. Chris could easily hit the 1,200 yard mark this year and be in discussions for the Doak Walker award. Don't take my word for it, I'm just a 22 year old kid living in the thumb of Michigan, let him prove it.

The Speight Criticism is (a little) Unfair

Opinion: The Speight Criticism is (a little) Unfair

Written By: Darren Bennett (@darrenJ19)

Fans like to play the blame game when something doesn't quite go their way. Even though football is a team sport, we still like to point the finger at a unit or player after a loss. The criticism that Speight is receiving after a disappointing finish to the 2016 season seems to be at full force right now from a lot of fans. Although I think SOME of it IS justified, much of it (I think) is unfair and overblown by a lot of fans. So, what better way is there to evaluate Speight's QB play than to take a snippet from the classic Clint Eastwood  western, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." For those not familiar with this film, Blondie (The Good) is a professional gunslinger who is out trying to earn a few dollars. Angel Eyes (The Bad) is a hit man who always commits to a task and sees it through, as long as he is paid to do so. And Tuco (The Ugly) is a wanted outlaw trying to take care of his own hide. I saw the good, the bad and the ugly come to life in Speight's game last year so let's break it down Clint Eastwood style:

THE GOOD: EARNING HIS BUCKS

What most fans seem to focus on when it comes to Speight's play last year is the last quarter of the season but let's not forget the guy played well enough to beat #17 Colorado, #7 Penn St and #9 Wisconsin and racked up a combined 108 pts against them. Those are three legit teams that were fighting for a playoff spot the last two weeks of the regular season and went a combined 32-10. Take a look back at the Colorado game when our defense was banged up and we couldn't stop Sefo Liufau. Speight managed the game and kept pressure on Colorado's defense and threw for 229 passing yards. Not bad for his 3rd game as a starter. He completed 62% of his passes against PSU and threw for 189 yards in complete domination. Sure, PSU was banged up on defense but he still managed to put 49 pts on the board against the eventual B1G champions. Oh, and he also completed 63% of his passes against Wisconsin, who finished top 15 in total defense last year and threw for 219 yards.

Even in the heartbreaking loss to OSU, Speight looked downright brilliant at times making accurate throws in tight windows against a top 5 defense. Trust me, I'll get to the bad and ugly later but right now let's look at what he did right in that game. He completed 64% of his passes for 219 yards with 2 TD's on the road in a hostile environment. The fumble on the 1-yard line was definitely a mistake but if you look at the sequence that followed that play, an OSU fake punt fail put us nearly in FG range in which Speight rose up, drove down and scored within the next 5 plays so really no harm no foul on the fumble. Momentum shifted back into our favor and we went up 17-7. Same score it would've been had we scored on the 1-yard line. Only thing lost was time. Point is, Speight stepped up and made up for his mistake on the next drive.

THE BAD: PAYING THE PRICE

I'll get to the ugly later (hi Iowa game) but let's look at the bad first. Staying with the OSU game, the pick 6 was definitely costly. Speight made some nice throws prior to this and really started to get into a rhythm. Bad field position backed us up close to our own goal line, a play action was called, Deveon didn't pick up the inside blitz, the ball got tipped and sailed right into the hands of Malik Hooker for OSU's first TD of the game. (insert SMH gif here). Bad play all around. Bad play call, bad pass protection, bad decision to try and get the throw off. Just bad. Speight should have tried to escape the blitz and just tuck it and run around the end or inside. All we needed was to stay out of the end zone to avoid the safety. The throw was off balance and a hand was in his face. Option two, throw the ball away or even take the safety. 2 pts is better than 7. Even though you could say this was bad on Speight's part, I can see why it played out the way it did. Had Deveon picked up that blitz and bought his QB more time, it may have turned out differently. Had the play been something other than a play action in his own end zone, it may have turned out differently. Had the ball not been tipped, it may have flown over Malik's head, avoiding the pick.

Of course, there was more bad in that game than just the pick 6. The fumble on the 1-yard line was really bad. The ball clearly went into Speight's hands and he just dropped it. There's really no excuse for it but as I alluded to it earlier, Speight stepped up and scored on the next drive to get the momentum back. The second pick was also really bad. Good protection, plenty of time to throw and the ball just sailed. No excuse for it and it was at a pivotal point in the game so it hurt that much more.

THE UGLY: OUTLAWED AND OUTPLAYED

The Iowa game to me stings hard because it was against a clearly inferior opponent and had we won, it would've STILL put us in the College Football Playoff conversation with a 2OT loss to OSU. It was your classic trap game and all the pieces fell into place to make it an all-around disaster of a game. Let me be clear: Speight deserves the criticism for the Iowa game. He completed only 42% of his passes for only 103 yards with zero TD's and 1 pick. To put this in perspective, Minnesota, PSU and Nebraska all had statistically a better defense than Iowa. To play this bad against a mediocre defense in your 10th game is frankly unacceptable. I remember watching that game feeling utter disgust. It was just ugly. Speaking of ugly, first half of the FSU game was also ugly. 6 pts in the first half against again a mediocre defense is ugly. Speight completed only 55% of his passes with another pick. Ugh.

PERSPECTIVE

With all that said, I STILL think the amount of criticism that Speight is getting from fans is a little unfair. A lot of fans like to call him out for how he played vs Iowa. I'll level with you there. There's zero excuse for how he played. It was just an all-around bad, ugly, nothing good to say game. BUT, if you dissect the OSU game like I did, the pick 6 should not be all on Speight's shoulders. It was just a bad play all around and it's unfair to put all the blame on him (as I explained above). The fumble at the 1-yard line was a mistake but again Speight stepped up and scored on the next play. He didn't fold like a lawn chair, he answered the bell at a critical point in the game and changed the momentum back into Michigan's favor. You could say he didn't do enough to put us in position to win. He did make some great passes against the best defense we played and for the most part, made pretty good decisions under pressure. I would argue 2 of the 3 turnovers Speight committed should not get the criticism that they are getting so that really leaves one pick that is justifiably on Speight's shoulders that was not redeemed. Let's keep in mind that we are talking about Ohio State. The team that is year in and year out on a similar level as Alabama. To walk into OSU, a hostile environment as a first-year starter and commit 1 true/costly pick isn't as bad as some are making it out to be. I believe Speight DID put us in position to beat OSU but a few bad calls, unlucky plays and 1 bad spot (#JTwasShort) was the difference in the game. Not to mention, the OL/Run Game and play calling was absolutely terrible late in the Iowa and OSU games.

I know I'll probably get reamed for this but I'm pulling out the injury card. I've seen on a few boards that Speight was definitely not 100% in the OSU and FSU games so is it really fair to criticize him if he wasn't healthy in those games? Would you have rather seen JOK in their vs OSU and FSU? I wouldn't.

So, let's look at Speight's first season as a whole. He won 9 games, lost 3. Had one bad game for sure vs Iowa, arguably 1 turnover against OSU should solely be on Speight's shoulders (he made up for his fumble; bad play call/no pass protection on pick 6), he made some really nice passes (64% comp), kept us in the game despite no run game (remember, we were winning 17-14 until OSU kicked a last second FG to tie), and some really questionable calls (#JTshort, #OSUrefs), and played injured. Does that sound like a guy that should be getting heavily criticized?

It may be an unpopular opinion but I really think Speight can improve a lot this year with Harbaugh's direction and development. He has some things for sure to fine tune, especially how he handles pressure in the pocket, his overall accuracy and throwing long balls. Many fans are already calling for Peters to take over. My reaction: You'd rather see a freshman with zero experience go in there instead of a guy that won 9 games and was one bad call away from winning the B1G East/Going to the CFP? A guy that beat Colorado, PSU and Wisconsin in his first year? Unless something catastrophic happens, expect Speight to start and lead this team in 2017. Harbaugh has confidence in him and we all should too. In Harbaugh We Trust. GO BLUE.