CHICAGO -- Jim Harbaugh said Michigan has a three-way tie for its starting quarterback position as the team gears up for preseason training camp.
While addressing reporters at Big Ten media days Tuesday morning, Harbaugh said incumbent starter Wilton Speight is "in a good spot," but he expects there to be an extended and legitimate competition for the job in Ann Arbor.
"[Speight] comes in really tied for first with John O'Korn and Brandon Peters, legitimately, through competition," Harbaugh said. "Throughout all the spring, we went through 15 practices and it was a dead heat. But the good news is they all did some things. Brandon really shot up. John O'Korn really played consistently good. And Wilton really had some impressive moments as well."
Speight started all but one game (which he missed because of injury) in the 2016 season. The redshirt junior completed 61.6 percent of his passes while helping the Wolverines to a conference-best 40.3 points per game in his first year as a starter. Redshirt freshman Peters appeared to be Speight's top competition during spring practice. Harbaugh said Peters continued to make progress physically during the summer, but he still wants the understated youngster to speak louder and show more command of the huddle.
"He made quite a few throws today that were elite throws," Speight said in April after watching his counterpart complete several deep balls in Michigan's spring game. "That's really the Brandon we've been seeing since he got here last year. He has an arm that's capable of making any throw, and [he's] poised to stand in the pocket and do what he needs to do."
O'Korn transferred to Michigan from Houston, where he won the American Athletic Conference's rookie of the year award in 2013. He sat out the 2015 season after joining the Wolverines and competed with Speight for the starting job last August. He threw two touchdowns passes in limited time on the field last season and is entering his final season of college eligibility.
None of the quarterback competitors traveled to Chicago for media days with the team. Michigan starts practice next Monday and opens the season on Sept. 2 against Florida at AT&T Stadium in Texas.