Seidel: Next year, U-M goes as far as QB Wilton Speight can take them

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Wilton Speight’s lip was cut and swollen.

He had a pad on the top of his left shoulder. There were grass stains all over his uniform -- on both elbows, on both hips and on his butt.

And that’s never a good thing. Not for a quarterback.

It showed how much abuse he had taken by Florida State, the best defensive line had had faced all season. “Those guys were freaks,” Speight said, after he was sacked four times in a 33-32 loss at the Orange Bowl in Hard Rock Stadium.

Speight, whose toughness will never be questioned after playing through a shoulder injury, took off his jersey and looked at it. “You look at this jersey that was super white and crisp at the beginning of the game and it’s got a lot of blood, sweat and tears on it, and everyone’s did,” Speight said. “We left it all out there. That represents what Michigan is all about.”

Speight is the future of this team. The leader. The guy who will determine everything.

“Man, Wilton is the greatest leader,” running back Chris Evans said. “Whatever he does, I’ll be right with him. He’s that guy you can’t go wrong with. If he is leading our team, we are good. Next year? We’ll go as far as he takes us.”

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How far can he take this team?

It depends on what he learns from this game.

Speight struggled at the start of this game, completing just three of his first nine passes. And when he struggles, this offense can't do anything. Not when Michigan doesn't have a running game.

“I was seeing the rush a little too much in the first half,” Speight said, “and maybe had happy feet because I was getting rushed a lot.”

Granted, that might be understandable.

FSU came into this game with more sacks than any other team in the country.

And Michigan had a difficult time trying to slow down DeMarcus Walker, who is a freak among freaks.

“They kind of hit us in the mouth early in the first half,” Speight said.

Judging by the cut on his lip, I think he was being literal.

Speight missed Jehu Chesson in the end zone, after rolling to his right and throwing back to his left. “I wanted to hold onto that ball a half second longer,” Speight said. “If I have to get rid of it earlier, I have to put a little more air under it.”

And he missed Amara Darboh in the end zone on a different play. “I probably should have set my feet,” he said. “I was rolling to the right and he was running to the left. You have to be conscious of that.”

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You sensing a theme?

Minutes after the game was done, Speight was already thinking about how he can improve.

At halftime, FSU had a 20-6 lead, and Speight saw Jake Butt in the locker room. Butt had injured his knee and was lost for the game.

“I talked to him at halftime,” Speight said. “I told him I love him.”

Speight feels a special connection with Butt that started when Speight arrived in Ann Arbor.

“He took me under his wing immediately,” Speight said. “I credit a lot of how I bounce back from adversity through how I watched him. … He put so much effort, heart, sweat and tears into this program. He’s one of the main reasons Michigan football is back.”

In the second half, Speight played better.

In the fourth quarter, he led Michigan to what looked like the go-ahead score.

“In the second half, I just said screw it,” he said. “If I’m going to freeball this, I’m going to freeball it. I started ripping the ball over the field.  Guys were making plays. The line was stepping up big time.”

And that is how he has to play next season.

Make his reads. Trust his eyes. And let it rip.

That's what he has to learn from this game.

“When things aren’t clicking, like they weren’t in the first half, I want to be the X factor,” Speight said. “I think I can take that next step, especially this off-season. I think I was able to show it in the second half.”

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

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