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Thursday, June 23, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Inside Jim Harbaugh’s camp
By ORION SANG
Summer Managing Sports Editor
If you were to walk by Al Glick
Field House or any of its outdoor
fields Saturday afternoon, there’s a
good chance you wouldn’t have had
any idea what was going on.
There
were
moments
when
dozens of high school football players
were
running
around
shirtless
playing soccer. There were moments
when rubber balls flew through the
air as they played dodgeball.
And there was even a moment
when Chicago Bears quarterback
Jay Cutler fielded cutoff throws
from campers as Michigan defensive
coordinator Don Brown hit fly and
ground balls.
In reality, what went on Saturday
in Ann Arbor wasn’t a multi-sport
camp. It was a football camp,
specifically for quarterbacks. But the
Ann Arbor Aerial Assault camp — A4
for short — ran according to Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh’s plan, and
that was with a unique emphasis on
athletic versatility combined with a
heavy NFL presence.
In fact, Harbaugh’s own views on
what make a good quarterback were
influenced by a NFL legend himself
in Super Bowl-winning coach Bill
Walsh.
“It’s in the name of Bill Walsh,”
Harbaugh
said
of
the
camp’s
unorthodox
drills.
“Spent
time
with Bill Walsh before he passed
away when I was in my first year at
Stanford, and I happened to ask him
one day, ‘What do you look for in a
quarterback?’ and he said, ‘Athletic
instincts.’ I said, ‘Explain that to me.
What does that mean?’ and he said,
‘It means that he’s the best athlete
in the entire high school. It means
that he could go make the basketball
team, the soccer team, he can swim,
he can field balls from centerfield, he
can be a shortstop, probably pitches
on the baseball team. Even if he
didn’t play the sport, he’s a good
enough athlete that he could go make
the team.’
“That just always resonated to
me, and you just want to pick some
of that up here in the camp, see how
they operate taking athletic reps
wherever they are. Some youngsters
aren’t playing multiple sports as
much as they used to, so you’d like
to test it. There’s a lot of athletic
reps you can take — you can climb a
tree, and that’s about as good of an
athletic rep that you can get in terms
of balance, strength, core, planning
out what your next move is.”
So Harbaugh and his staff,
including passing game coordinator
and wide receivers coach Jedd
Fisch, interspersed Saturday’s camp
with pickup games of other sports
in hopes of bringing out the inner
athlete from all 240 participating
campers.
And they did so with the help
of numerous NFL quarterbacks
— including Cutler, Detroit Lions
and former Michigan quarterback
Jake Rudock, Indianapolis Colts
quarterback Stephen Morris and
San Diego Chargers quarterback
Zach Mettenberger — as well as
numerous NFL coaches and private
quarterback coaches such as George
Whitfield.
The NFL presence added an air
of professionalism to the setting —
even when campers were engaged
in non-football activities, they were
urged on by the professionals. And
when campers completed drills in
which they actually used a football,
the coaches studied them even more
sharply.
In one activity, the campers
were supposed to simulate a play-
action rollout before completing a
20-yard pass to the sideline. With
Mettenberger
watching
closely,
highly touted 2018 quarterback
recruit
Artur
Sitkowski
began
the drill. Sitkowski was less than
a second into his attempt when
Mettenberger interrupted, yelling at
Sitkowski to come back and repeat
the drill before showing the young
high-schooler how it was done.
Later, while the campers ate lunch
inside the Field House, they listened
to
speakers
including
former
Michigan Heisman Trophy winner
Desmond
Howard,
Michigan
basketball coach John Beilein and
Buffalo Bills president Russ Brandon.
It was all part of the plan — a
plan that even included giving
each camper a Wonderlic test, an
examination used to test the mental
acuity of NFL prospects at the NFL
Combine.
“Maybe we aspire to be the NFL’s
33rd team,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve
got 30 of their players and a whole
heck of a lot of coaches out here
today. So it feels like it.”
That
was
the
environment
Harbaugh tried to create, though
not completely. After all, the average
NFL team probably doesn’t have its
players hurl dodgeballs at each other.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Jim Harbaugh had campers at the A4 quarterback camp playing soccer, dodgeball and baseball.
Speight steps up
summer schedule
By ORION SANG
Summer Managing Sports Editor
Looking back on it, Wilton
Speight admits his first moment
in the driver’s seat last season
didn’t go as planned. Then a
redshirt freshman, he was the
first quarterback off the bench
after starter Jake Rudock was
injured against Minnesota last
Oct. 31, but the offense sputtered
on its first two drives with
Speight in control of it.
On the third, though, Speight
finally
found
his
groove,
completing two passes while the
Wolverines marched down the
field looking to take the lead late
in the fourth quarter.
And on a third down at the
Minnesota 12-yard line, Speight
made the biggest play of his
career, threading a pass to fifth-
year senior receiver Jehu Chesson
for the go-ahead touchdown.
Throughout
the
offseason,
Speight has made it a point
of emphasis to build upon his
performance against the Golden
Gophers.
With
the
starting
quarterback job open, he battled
against redshirt juniors John
O’Korn and Shane Morris during
spring practices before pulling
ahead and taking snaps with the
first team.
Then in the Spring Game, he
led his team to a 14-13 victory,
accounting for both of his team’s
touchdowns.
But Speight hasn’t slowed down
since. In fact, he has only worked
harder, going out to California to
train with private quarterback
coach Steve Clarkson alongside
other
college
quarterbacks
including
Clemson’s
Deshaun
Watson and UCLA’s Josh Rosen.
He has also continued to train
with his team in Ann Arbor,
organizing team workouts and
7-on-7 competitions.
“It’s tough with the coaches
being out with satellite camps
and
everything,
but
talking
to coach Fisch on the phone,
talking ball and everything with
him helps a ton,” Speight said.
“He’s got tests we take every
week. Then it comes down to
how much we can do as a team,
player-led, myself and the other
quarterbacks organizing 7-on-7
(drills) and workouts. We started
back in May, early June.”
His
experience
in
the
Minnesota game, in particular,
has stuck with him.
“One thing going into that
Spring Game was starting fast,”
Speight said. “In the Minnesota
game, I came in and was a little
sloppy at first. That was a big
focal point for me for the entire
spring, and I never really got to
the point I wanted to be until the
Spring Game.
“That’s just what I want to
build on going into (fall) camp.
I want my first play to be a
touchdown.”
Speight admits that familiarity
with the playbook has been a key
component of his progression.
For him, this is the first time
since high school that he hasn’t
had to learn a new offense
heading into the season.
“Seven-on-seven (drills) and
stuff seem like they’re in slow
motion compared to when I first
came in and first started in this
offensive system,” Speight said.
“It’s slowed down tremendously,
and it’s been fun.”
And as he has blossomed on
the field, Speight has also tried
to lead off of it, drawing upon
lessons learned from watching
Rudock last year.
“I’m not really the most vocal
guy as far as the quarterbacks that
are always willing to break down
the huddle and have a comment
here and there,” Speight said. “I
don’t really do that. I try to lead
by example and go with the flow
and lead by that way. As far as
changing any other things, I still
do all the optional workouts like
I have been (as) a fourth string or
second string, just trying to stay
consistent the whole time.”
Next up for Speight this
summer? Helping the incoming
freshmen — most of whom are
arriving this month — adjust to
life in Ann Arbor.
“We’ve got a bunch of wide
receivers coming in, and we’re
going to make sure they get
adjusted as quickly as possible,”
Speight said. “Just doing our best
to make sure they’re up to speed
and learn the new offense.”
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