Michigan football’s senior quarterback John O’Korn has officially been handed over the keys to the offense for at least the next few weeks.
Jim Harbaugh confirmed on Monday that O’Korn will replace Wilton Speight beginning this Saturday when the Wolverines host Big Ten rival Michigan State. Speight was injured two weeks ago during the first quarter of a win vs. Purdue.
O’Korn, who transferred from Houston to Michigan, just might be the spark needed to ignite the offense. In limited action as Speight’s backup this year, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native is 19-of-27 for 307 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a rating of 170.7.
In contrast, Speight has thrown for only 274 more yards on 54 more attempts with a QB rating of 121.9. He has passed the 200-yard mark just once and did not throw a TD pass vs. Air Force.
In relief of Speight, O’Korn showed the kind of skills that made him a valuable addition when he left Houston, completing 18-of-26 for 270 yards. Last year, he was 20-of-34 for 173 with two touchdowns.
Michigan isn’t lacking at the skill positions as some might have you believe. They are just missing the key piece to get them the ball.
O’Korn came out of high school having won a 7A state title in Florida with St. Thomas Aquinas. He started his true freshman season with the Cougars, throwing for over 3,100 yards and 28 touchdowns.
However, after losing the position to Greg Ward, O’Korn headed to Michigan to learn under Harbaugh.
For O’Korn to have success, Harbaugh must allow the offense to expand and get vertical. Grant Perry, Tarik Black, Sean McKeon and Zach Gentry are the leading receivers, but none have topped 200 yards on the year.
With a strong showing against the Spartans, O’Korn could find himself atop the depth chart for an extended period of time with a key battle looming. Following this week, Michigan heads to Indiana before traveling to Penn State after.
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Brandon Peters will serve as the backup to O’Korn with heralded freshman Dylan McCaffery, the younger brother of former Stanford star and current Carolina Panther Christian McCaffery, the No. 3.