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It had long been a mystery, what former Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight’s injury was.
Suffered in the final weeks of the 2016 regular season in a night game at Iowa, Speight was rumored to have a broken collarbone or separated shoulder and was speculated to miss the ensuing three-plus games. He did miss the next one, a snowy home game against Indiana, but he took the field against Ohio State, but was obviously limited.
So what was it exactly? His teammates weren’t ever even truly sure. One told us after the season that he wasn’t sure, but speculated it was a broken collarbone. Another mentioned it as a separated shoulder.
With ESPN replaying the 2016 version of The Game on Thursday night, Speight finally revealed the injury that hindered him in the double-overtime loss at Ohio State.
never been a shoulda/coulda/woulda guy. all I know is The Game with a collarbone cracked in half wasn’t ideal. https://t.co/Wv9W5FT8Ct
— Wilton Speight (@WiltonSpeight) May 1, 2020
Unlike in previous games, Speight never attempted the deep ball vs. the Buckeyes, in favor of shorter, intermediate routes.
He went 23 for 36 for 219 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in Columbus. Naturally, now knowing the precise nature of his injury, fans will always wonder what could have or would have been had he been fully healthy.
Speight returned the following year with almost an entirely new cast of characters on offense, but was injured in Week Four at Purdue, when he suffered cracked vertebrae. He never again made another appearance in a Michigan uniform, transferring to UCLA for his final season n 2018.