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Wilton Speight Vs. David Cornwell

  • Does this concern anyone else?

    Cornwell had 5* status and is the 18th best player in the nation while Speight is the 31st ranked Pro-Style QB and ranked an 86. With many players ranked above Speight that aren't drawing interest from anyone close to as prestigious as Michigan.

    Cornwell was (IMO) ready to commit had we offered him on National Signing Day and we opted to offer Speight and trust the coaches.

    Is anyone concerned that maybe Borges whiffed on this and we didn't offer the right one? Or what do our coaches see in this kids that national pundits and recruiting analysts don't?

    FSUWolverine8FS

  • FSUWolverine8FSUx0 said...

    Does this concern anyone else?

    Cornwell had 5* status and is the 18th best player in the nation while Speight is the 31st ranked Pro-Style QB and ranked an 86. With many players ranked above Speight that aren't drawing interest from anyone close to as prestigious as Michigan.

    Cornwell was (IMO) ready to commit had we offered him on National Signing Day and we opted to offer Speight and trust the coaches.

    Is anyone concerned that maybe Borges whiffed on this and we didn't offer the right one? Or what do our coaches see in this kids that national pundits and recruiting analysts don't?

    1. Cornwell wasn't ready to commit at all. He would've dragged it out - he clearly loves Alabama, and it would've been a dogfight.

    2. If you're seriously going by 247's initial ranking of Speight, that's a joke. Just watch his tape - he's accurate, he's got an arm, and he's clearly better than a middling 3-star.

    3. Jeebus, the kid hasn't even played his senior year of HS ball and you're saying Borges whiffed? Relax.

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    CMXI ●

  • You really don't think Cornwell would have committed?

    I remember his tweets leading up to the day, he was all Blue had we offered IMO.

    Blizzard ●

  • This thread is the worst. fingergun

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    Clarkw267 ●

  • Blizzard said...

    You really don't think Cornwell would have committed?

    I remember his tweets leading up to the day, he was all Blue had we offered IMO.

    I don't think he would have committed, but I think we would have been the clear leAders. He seemed pretty upset when he found out he wasn't offered and said something like, " The thing I learned was to find a school you love and show them you love the school. Then commit."

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    fursty13

  • Ducksworth

  • Mitch Again

  • I am a bit concerned.

    I have grown to like Wilton's game a lot. (In fact, I was the one that first mentioned him on this board after Coach Brown did a profile of him.)

    However, there's no doubt that Cornwell is still the "sexier" option.

    And unlike CMXI, I think Cornwell was ready to be a Wolverine but imo he would've held off on committing. His disappointment on NSD was palpable. It was clear that he badly wanted the Michigan offer.

    However, I think he handled it well. And I'm sure Coach Borges smoothed things over.

    We won't know who was the better option until their college (and maybe NFL) careers are over.

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    Frank C ●

  • CMXI said...

    1. Cornwell wasn't ready to commit at all. He would've dragged it out - he clearly loves Alabama, and it would've been a dogfight.

    2. If you're seriously going by 247's initial ranking of Speight, that's a joke. Just watch his tape - he's accurate, he's got an arm, and he's clearly better than a middling 3-star.

    3. Jeebus, the kid hasn't even played his senior year of HS ball and you're saying Borges whiffed? Relax.

    First off, I think Speight is more what we're looking for. Hoke and co. are bringing in mammoth 6'4, 6'5 OL and we need the QB to be taller so he can see over the OL.

    Secondly, I don't Speight has been properly evaluated. 247sports has Andrew Ford as the 11th ranked pro style QB, and it's noticeable Speight is much better IMO. I'd say Speight is definitely a top 10 QB in the class.

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    Rabid ●

  • First, ALWAYS trust the coaches.

    Second, Cornwell stated that he would not commit early, on SEVERAL occasions. Why would we believe our offer would have changed that?

    I think taking Speight was a bit of a gamble, but not a huge one. Betting we would get Cornwell would have been a huge gamble.

    www.neoavatara.com/blog

    neoavatara

  • FSUWolverine8FSUx0 said...

    Does this concern anyone else?

    Cornwell had 5* status and is the 18th best player in the nation while Speight is the 31st ranked Pro-Style QB and ranked an 86. With many players ranked above Speight that aren't drawing interest from anyone close to as prestigious as Michigan.

    Cornwell was (IMO) ready to commit had we offered him on National Signing Day and we opted to offer Speight and trust the coaches.

    Is anyone concerned that maybe Borges whiffed on this and we didn't offer the right one? Or what do our coaches see in this kids that national pundits and recruiting analysts don't?

    A. Hoke not Borges has final say on who gets offers.

    B. We won't know which one is better for 2-3 years at least, so it seems pointless to spend a lot of time now worrying about it.

    MrWoodson

  • This debate should be Speight vs. O'Connor, seeing how if our coaches didn't offer Speight it was said they had O'Connor #2 and Cornwell #3. If they were that bad at evaluating after watching each of them throw live, there are issues far exceeding our choice of quarterback in this year's class. Plus, wasn't it Hecklinski (not Borges) who watched Speight throw and confirmed he's what we're looking for?

    Stupid thread IMO.

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    Mitch Again

  • I like Speight. I like Cornwell. But since Speight is a Wolverine commit, he's the only one that matters for Michigan now.

    I generally agree with the "trust the coaches" approach. But Borges does not have a great record of identifying good QBs at the high school level. He's been pretty bad, actually. I'm hoping he got Speight right, though.

    Michigan should pretty much be able to land the QB they want (or at least one of the top 2 or 3 they want) in each class. The question for me is whether Michigan does a good job of identifying QB talent that will translate to the college level.

    michigandot

  • Rabid said...

    First off, I think Speight is more what we're looking for. Hoke and co. are bringing in mammoth 6'4, 6'5 OL and we need the QB to be taller so he can see over the OL.

    Secondly, I don't Speight has been properly evaluated. 247sports has Andrew Ford as the 11th ranked pro style QB, and it's noticeable Speight is much better IMO. I'd say Speight is definitely a top 10 QB in the class.

    I believe Cornwell is listed at 6'5" FWIW.

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    fursty13

  • Mitch Again said...

    This debate should be Speight vs. O'Connor

    I agree.

    O'Connor really impressed me. Unfortunately, there seems to be a chance that he will be a Michigan State Spartan. Interesting that Sparty could get a commitment from either O'Connor or Caleb Henderson.

    Btw, Sparty already has a QB on its roster with the last name O'Connor as in Tyler O'Connor (2012 Ohio QB).

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    Frank C ●

  • I remember when we did the first interview with Wilton before anybody back in December (on Tremendous), and wondered why he wasn't getting the pub that some of the other targets were getting.

    I'll try to find the comment, but when he committed, someone from our WVU affiliate made a point to come over and talk about how great he was at some off-season workouts and that he was very underrated ranking-wise. Seeing him get the Under Armour invite, not to mention the coaches watched him throw, should make everyone feel more than comfortable in the choice. Not only because of his abilities, but his enthusiasm and the embracing of Michigan that he's undertaken since committing. An excellent choice all-around.

    Steve Lorenz

  • You have to take into account that the staff has seen both throw, and decided to offer Speight... not knowing he would commit right away.

    In fact Speight said they were kind of surprised, and O' Connor was surprised as well, because he was expecting to get an offer the same day.

    Cornwell no doubt has the stronger arm... he's got the best arm in the country that I've seen. However, Speight is very accurate, and has better footwork at this point. Also, it seems like Borges trusts Steve Clarkson's opinion, so when Clarkson raved about Wilton, I'm sure Al was listening.

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    Clarkw267 ●

  • Mods ban this troll before he gets out of control with shitty topics like this and nobody continue the debate about Cornwell vs Speight...we got who we offered and man up and back your players instead of questioning the coaching staff.

    UMichYank11

  • Clarkw267 said...

    You have to take into account that the staff has seen both throw, and decided to offer Speight... not knowing he would commit right away.

    In fact Speight said they were kind of surprised, and O' Connor was surprised as well, because he was expecting to get an offer the same day.

    Cornwell no doubt has the stronger arm... he's got the best arm in the country that I've seen. However, Speight is very accurate, and has better footwork at this point. Also, it seems like Borges trusts Steve Clarkson's opinion, so when Clarkson raved about Wilton, I'm sure Al was listening.

    I remember seeing a quote from Clarkson where he said Speight's arm strength is comparable to Roethlisberger. I know arm strength is most people's concern with Speight.

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    fursty13

  • fursty13 said...

    I remember seeing a quote from Clarkson where he said Speight's arm strength is comparable to Roethlisberger. I know arm strength is most people's concern with Speight.

    Everyone who has seen Speight throw in person say his arm strength is absolutely not an issue. I do not understand why it's still brought up. If people still want to hate on his arm strength from a 5 minute video while neglecting the experts who have watched him live, there's no hope in swaying their opinions.

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    Mitch Again

  • So we should always back up our players? And say they are the best no matter what?

    I also saw the quotes from Speight's coach saying he looks better then Hackensberg at the same point in their careers.

    I look at the highlight tape and to my untrained eye he looks really talented, just wondering why his ranking doesn't reflect that. Can't wait for the kid to hit the camps and start prooving people wrong.

    Blizzard ●

  • fursty13 said...

    I believe Cornwell is listed at 6'5" FWIW.

    Cornwell is also a year younger and 10lbs heavier. Size is a wash between them.

    bkp1883

  • Blizzard said...

    So we should always back up our players? And say they are the best no matter what?

    No, but we should always be rational and use logic.

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    Mitch Again

  • Steve Lorenz said...

    I remember when we did the first interview with Wilton before anybody back in December (on Tremendous), and wondered why he wasn't getting the pub that some of the other targets were getting.

    I'll try to find the comment, but when he committed, someone from our WVU affiliate made a point to come over and talk about how great he was at some off-season workouts and that he was very underrated ranking-wise. Seeing him get the Under Armour invite, not to mention the coaches watched him throw, should make everyone feel more than comfortable in the choice. Not only because of his abilities, but his enthusiasm and the embracing of Michigan that he's undertaken since committing. An excellent choice all-around.

    The UA offer was encouraging, also agreed that he has picked up some of the moxie that Shane had in terms of recruiting others.

    Blizzard ●

  • Mitch Again said...

    No, but we should always be rational and use logic.

    That doesn't make any sense in terms of the conversation at hand.

    Blizzard ●

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