With Jim Harbaugh at the helm, Michigan fans are ecstatic to get the 2015 season underway. They will open the year Thursday, September 3rd in Salt Lake City to face off against the Utah Utes but before that, Michigan will need to find a new quarterback following the graduation of Devin Gardner. Brady Hoke’s tenure at Michigan was marked by wildly inconsistent quarterback play, something Harbaugh knows, and also believes he can fix. He has several different options, and with no clear-cut favorite, this figures to be and interesting month of spring ball and even more interesting fall camp.
Shane Morris, the former five-star Warren De La Salle product showed great promise his freshman year when he filled in for Gardner in the Wolverines bowl game against Kansas State but his sophomore campaign was less than stellar. Morris saw action in five games and completed just 14 passes for a total of 128 yards, 0 touchdowns, and three picks which was good for a Total QBR of just 6, according to ESPN.
When asked how he felt about playing for Harbaugh, Morris replied “so excited” as reported by the Detroit Free Press. Who wouldn’t be excited to play for a guy like Harbaugh though; he has made stars out of Andrew Luck and Colin Kaepernick and is considered one of the best molders of quarterbacks in the business.
Wilton Speight, the 6’6” 240 pounder out of The Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia is another compelling candidate. He obviously has the size to be a huge threat as a pocket passer. He hasn’t seen any action in a Michigan uniform but his film shows the ability to to make all the throws. He puts perfect touch on the deep ball but also fits the ball into tight windows on short and intermediate throws very well. He wasn’t as highly regarded as Morris coming out of high school but that doesn’t mean anything to Coach Harbaugh who is coming in and giving everyone a clean slate. The position will not be given to anyone.
Freshman and early enrollee Alex Malzone ,the unwavering commit to the Wolverines by way of Birmingham Brother Rice, Shane Morris’ rival school, has been a lock since May of his junior year. Despite Michigan’s terrible season, coaching woes, and general uncertainty, Malzone stayed true to his commitment and signed with the Maize and Blue. He is participating in spring ball which gives him a big advantage in terms of learning the speed of the college game, learning the playbook, and, of course, playing in front of Coach Harbaugh. He is a smaller prospect than the others standing only 6’1” and weighing in at about 205 pounds. He will have room to put on weight this spring and being that he is only a freshman, I don’t think the coaches will be too concerned with his stature, at least at this moment.
Another alluring recruit is class of 2015 signee, and the first player to commit specifically to an offer from the Harbaugh staff, Zach Gentry. Gentry is a four-star product from El Dorado in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He committed ten days before national signing day despite offers from Alabama, Texas, Baylor and others and will enroll in the fall. That could put him at a disadvantage against Malzone who will have already had an entire spring ball under his belt. When you watch Gentry on film, though, that may be his only disadvantage. He has an uncanny ability to put the ball on the money at all times whether he is rolling out or in the pocket. He never gets rattled under pressure and he has great feet and the ability to scramble when need be. His speed isn’t blazing but he had more than a few runs that he broke off of at least 20 yards which, to me, is a testament to his vision as much as it is his legs. Harbaugh’s ability to recruit is something special and he found a gem in Gentry.
John O’Korn, the University of Houston transfer, will sit out this year but can benefit greatly from a year off with Harbaugh. He earned the starting job his freshman year at UH and he produced great results throwing for just over 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns to just ten picks, a pretty impressive stat line for a true freshman. His sophomore season brought him back down to earth, however. A weak, five-game start that saw him throw for just 89 completions and 944 yards to go a long with six touchdowns and eight interceptions led to his ultimate benching. He decided he would transfer to U of M and was offered by Harbaugh. Depending on which O’Korn shows up, don’t sleep on him to be a strong candidate for the job this year.
In my opinion, Shane Morris will be Michigan’s next quarterback. Make no mistake about it, this is his last chance. As a junior who hasn’t seen too much playing time after being so hotly recruited, Morris knows he needs to impress Coach Harbaugh and the rest of the staff. The lefty has all of the tools to do so but it remains to be seen if he will implement those tools and earn the job. The rest of the aforementioned guys will be putting up a fight as well so don’t expect this to be quick decision on Harbaugh’s end. Michigan fans and college football fans alike will surely keep a watchful eye on this ongoing battle.
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