Kornacki: Speight's Strengths on Full Display Saturday
11/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 5, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- "He's going deep!" has become the beginning audio bite on so many Wilton Speight passes. More often than not, the closing comment on the play is "It's complete!"
Speight is becoming one of the most efficiently dangerous quarterbacks the Wolverines have had because of his uncanny ability to connect on deep balls. That's become his calling card and is the biggest reason why Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh threw "his hat in the ring" as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Speight saw to it that undefeated Michigan never punted in Saturday's (Nov. 5) 59-3 win over Maryland, and all five drives in the first half resulted in touchdowns. He set the school record for the most passing yardage in a first half with 292, breaking the mark Denard Robinson set against Illinois in 2010 by 30 yards.
He finished with 19 completions in 24 attempts for 362 yards -- the eighth most in a single game in school history -- with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. But what makes the big yardage so impressive is how few passes he needed to get that total.
Only one of the seven performances ahead of Speight's included an average of more than 10 yards per attempt, and that was the 17.3 yards Devin Gardner had per pass in setting the school record of 503 yards passing against Indiana in 2013. Speight averaged 15.1 yards per attempt against the Terrapins.
In the head coach's mind, the Wolverines now have two Heisman candidates.
Harbaugh foreshadowed what he was thinking earlier in the week but placed his evaluation of Speight onto a whole different plateau after he drilled Maryland.
"That's the best first half of football I've ever seen a quarterback at Michigan play," said Harbaugh, an All-American for the Wolverines in 1986 whose highest passing total was 310 at Wisconsin that year. "I think the statistics back that up. (He's) moving and throwing and accurate, extending plays, all of the above.
"I don't know how you play better than Wilton did. There was one throw that wasn't great, but other than that it was a perfect game. That's really tough to do."
A few minutes later, when asked about linebacker/do-everything Jabrill Peppers' Heisman candidacy, Harbaugh said, "You might also want to look at the quarterback, too, in considering where does he rate with the way he's been playing all season. Maybe it's time to throw his hat into the ring."
Harbaugh chuckled, obviously pleased with the progress Speight has made in nine starts.
"I think we're looking at a budding really good player," Harbaugh said of Speight earlier this week. "I was going to say budding star, but it's very close to that. He's doing so many good things, and he's been almost flawless when he has time and space to see things.
"And now he's making play after play after play with people right in his grill, knows he's going to get hit, still is making the throw over them and takes the hit and bounces back up. I mean, making accurate passes after getting hit. That's really a courage quality, and he's really playing well."
Speight has completed 139 of 231 passes (60 percent) for 2,053 yards with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions.
He was asked about Harbaugh's Heisman thoughts for him.
"That's pretty cool," said Speight. "That's pretty cool to hear, but that doesn't happen unless you go undefeated in November. This is a good first step, but there's a lot left in the journey.
"I don't want it to take away anything that Jabrill's done, but that was a cool compliment he gave me. Jabrill deserves to be there, and whatever happens with the rest of my season statistic-wise, we'll let it ride out."
Harbaugh's Heisman candidates combined on the flashiest play in the game in the first quarter. Peppers threw the ball in the backfield to Speight in the left flat. Speight set his feet and heaved the ball down the left sideline to Jehu Chesson for a 40-yard completion.
HIGHLIGHT: Wilton ➡️ Peppers ➡️ Wilton ➡️ Jehu. 40 yards on the pass play. (via @BigTenNetwork)#GoBlue » https://t.co/dGxeS0Eyeo
-- Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 5, 2016
"That was a cool trick play we had been practicing for a couple weeks," said Speight. "We thought it was the right moment, and all week long I'd been throwing it to Kekoa Crawford with a shorter pass. But I'd seen Jehu deeper all week and had never thrown it. But they doubled Kekoa, and I was able to get it deep.
"Jabrill, you know when he has the ball, everyone thinks it's going to stay in his hands. But for him to turn around and throw the ball to me was big."
Speight then threw the ball 50 yards in the air, on a dime.
That got Michigan to the Maryland 13-yard line, and two plays later Speight bolted up the middle for 10 yards and his first collegiate rushing touchdown. He jumped for joy in the end zone and showed plenty of enthusiasm.
"Coach (Jedd) Fisch dialed up a pretty good play for Jake Butt," said Speight, "but he got kind of tangled up and double-teamed. Everyone knows the check down (there) is yourself. So, I was sitting back there with a lot of time and peeked up to the middle and saw there was no one there."
He scored easily, matching his career-long run, and said he was kidded about doing an impersonation of the Nike Jordan Brand "Jumpman" logo.
"It wasn't really 'Jumpman' or anything," said Speight. "I was just excited. I had never had a rushing touchdown here and just showed my joy."
#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/3SsWgZXLgR
-- Michigan Athletics (@UMichAthletics) November 6, 2016
Wolverines radio analyst Dan Dierdorf told listeners: "Maryland's defense is gashed up the middle by Michael Vick, I mean Wilton Speight. When did he become Steve Young? This is unbelievable."
Speight also showed quick feet several times in the game to elude defenders. He ditched linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr., who had him on the run, and completed a 15-yard pass to fullback Khalid Hill.
The 6-foot-6, 243-pound quarterback often gets asked about his constantly improving elusiveness but shrugs his shoulders in that regard.
"Honestly," said Speight, "that's always been a strength of my game when I was getting recruited in high school. You guys just didn't see it, but it's nothing new. It's kind of something I've always been good at, and I try to showcase that.
"In high school (Collegiate School, Richmond, Virginia) I often ran the spread (offense) and was scrambling for my life. So, I got good at that."
His feet continue enabling him to go deep even when pressured, and he watches tape of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback "Big" Ben Roethlisberger to pick up the nuances of a big man escaping heat.
Speight completed seven passes for 23 yards or more. He hit Chesson for 23, 33 (touchdown) and 40. He hit Amara Darboh for 20 and 34 (touchdown). Butt caught a 37-yarder over the middle, and tailback Chris Evans took a perfectly timed screen pass 56 yards on a second-and-34 play.
What's the key to going deep and connecting so often?
"It's just trusting my target whether it's Darboh or Jehu or Jake Butt or really anyone across the board," said Speight. "I know they are going to make a play, and I know it's my job to be as accurate as I can with it."
Speight completed 79 percent of his passes despite having so many deep throws, and that also was a top-10 effort. Elvis Grbac (1991, at Illinois) and Harbaugh (1985, also against Maryland) share the sixth spot by both completing 80 percent in one game in which they threw at least 20 passes.
"Wilton had an unbelievable game today," said Butt, who had five catches for 76 yards while becoming Michigan's career leader in receiving yardage for tight ends with 1,521. "Again, he just keeps coming through for us when we need it most. He extended plays and was breaking tackles and finding guys down field.
"He's doing a hell of a job for us. Without him, man, you need a great quarterback to succeed the way we are. Wilton is doing a great job for us."
From game to game, and from play to play, you can see Speight growing.
"I don't second guess myself at all anymore," said Speight. "I see it open and let it fire."
He's going deep, connecting and carving his own niche among Michigan's top quarterbacks.
