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It was 95 degrees in West Lafayette, and the Big Ten opener in 2017 wasn’t supposed to have quite so much intrigue.
Even though Michigan dispatched Florida, Cincinnati and Air Force, coming into its first true road game 3-0, something seemed amiss. Then, as the Wolverines took on the Boilermakers, everything came to a head.
At first, the young defense seemed like it wasn’t going to be quite as stalwart as usual — though it settled in. But starter Wilton Speight was hit early, forced out after breaking three vertebrae. It would be an untimely end to his Michigan career, in just Week Four of the 2017, as he transferred to UCLA, once recovered, for his final season of eligibility.
As the also young offense struggled to get traction, and was likely to struggle more without early hero Tarik Black out indefinitely with a broken foot, the Wolverines needed an unlikely hero.
And on Sept. 23, 2017, it got it in backup slinger John O’Korn.
Though embroiled in a preseason quarterback battle, we hadn’t seen much of O’Korn, save for a 2016 start against Indiana and a handful of drives in the 2017 season opener. It was no sure thing what the maize and blue would get out of him on that day, but once Speight went down, he came in and had his best performance wearing a winged helmet, throwing for 270 yards — a season-high that would stand for over a year.
On Saturday, Michigan was supposed to host Purdue, the first matchup between the two since that fateful afternoon in 2017. So instead of celebrating 2020, we’re looking back at John O’Korn’s finest performance.
He joins us to share the oral history of that game, including several previously unknown factoids and why that game of all games, was destined to be the most important to him, even before he took a single snap from under center.
Oral history of Michigan’s 28-10 win over Purdue
Backstory
Setting the stage for the 2017 season, though he was a starter in 2016, Wilton Speight wasn’t necessarily a shoo-in to win the job and found himself in a battle with you.
What went down as far as that quarterback controversy of having a camp battle?
I think one of the things I love about Coach Harbaugh and that initially drew me to Michigan was the fact that he’s very open about running a program that operates as a meritocracy. And while we got screwed out of a playoff run the year before – that’s a whole ‘nother story for another time – Wilton played exceptionally throughout the year; (but) Jedd Fisch leaving and Pep Hamilton coming in, combined with Coach Harbaugh’s commitment to this meritocracy, really opened the door for me to put the 2016 season and the redshirt year and everything that happened at Houston behind me.
I felt like I had even another fresh start with Coach Hamilton.
I came in in 2015 – to backtrack a little bit – I didn’t have a good relationship with Jedd Fisch at all. That was never public or anything. Shouldn’t have been, there weren’t any big instances or anything like that. But we just did not have a good relationship from the start. I think a lot of it had to do with me being so (eager) to get better and learn as a redshirt and a junior – which is very rare in college football – and him giving me no time to focus or attention at all that entire year. When I became eligible, coming into the 2016 season, Wilton and I were really neck-and-neck all throughout spring and into fall camp. And I really felt like by the end of fall camp it was between Wilton and I. He and Jedd had a really close relationship. I’m not saying that’s why he was given the starting job, but it could have been a factor in deciding between two guys that were really close, neck-and-neck. And he played great throughout the 2016 year, as I said.
We had an incredible year that year. It’s been so cool to watch everybody go on to do what they’ve done. But as we approach 2017 and Pep Hamilton came in, it was a completely different situation for me. Where I really mentally, emotionally checked out from football and getting on the field, things like that, having a new coordinator come in – one who I felt like took a genuine interest in me and in my progression as a person, as a football player and as a quarterback and leader – really rejuvenated my energy and love for the game. That entire – from the Orange Bowl until that first game at Florida, I don’t know that I’ve ever been more locked in in my football career. I felt like I had an incredible spring. I felt really good about fall camp and really – I think I really kind of played my way into the situation. They didn’t necessarily expect me to be a part of a true competition going into that fall camp, but I think I really just played well enough to play my way onto the field.
We had gone into that game – I remember, Coach Harbaugh and Pep called us all into his office. Can’t remember which players were there specifically, but it was at least Wilton and I and maybe McCaffrey and a few other scholarship quarterbacks as well – and Peters. But he sat us down and said we both were gonna split time and we were both gonna play in the Florida game. Wilton and I both took that differently — him coming off of a full season starting, (he) was probably a bit more frustrated than me, on the flipside, actually being given a chance to play and prove myself on the field. I was really excited and really felt like, ‘Alright, the competition continues. It’s just gonna go another week or two further than expected. Earn the starting job on the field.’ Really felt great about that.
And, we get to Dallas. Really wasn’t until the second-half of the game that that plan evidently wasn’t gonna go that way. I really felt like I came in – it was like 1-for-1 for 40 yards. I threw a fade to Tarik down the left sideline. I think I had two drives in the first half. Really felt like I proved I should at least get more playing time in the second half. And it just didn’t happen that way. Again, a lot of the frustrations and doubts start to resurface at that point and the next few weeks. Wilton continued to play and it was a tough time for me, but really decided to making the most of my last year at Michigan and part of my decision of coming back for a fifth-year – even though I might not see the field a single time vs. transferring somewhere else where I might play – was I understood the value of the Michigan degree. I really wanted to focus on maximizing my education, building my network and really preparing myself for life after football. So that’s kind of an overview of everything that would happen up until the Purdue game, I would say.
I do want to mention you did rejuvenate what Michigan was doing offensively when you came in against Florida. Wilton had his two picks.
So even though you were a bit despondent about not playing, did you feel a little more comfortable with your ability to perform on the field going into that Purdue game?
I really felt like that camp – and any guy on the team will tell you – I really felt like I was back to playing at the same level, perhaps even better, than I was my freshman year at Houston. Confidence was at an all-time high. I felt like given the chance, I could be the guy to lead the team to great things that year. It didn’t work out that way, and I certainly felt more confident with Pep, as I mentioned, and felt really good about the offense. I felt that Pep really — specifically on the field, to answer your question – Pep really helped me understand the game in a much deeper way that was applicable to when I was on the field, rather than just understanding how to watch film or what a defense was doing on film. Really understanding and being in it and applying it in the middle of a game in any given play.