The No. 1 question concerning Michigan this fall: Who will be the starting quarterback?
That question is so important, any other seems irrelevant.
But to answer who will be taking the snaps from center against Hawaii in the Sept. 3 opener at noon, you must first answer other questions. Actually, many questions.
And as the Wolverines enter the second week of fall practice, passing-game coordinator and quarterbacks/wide receivers coach Jedd Fisch can provide a litany of questions he needs answered before he can answer question No. 1.
"There's a ton of things we have to look at," Fisch said on media day. "But the No. 1 thing is: Can you lead the team to score? Can you lead the team in practice? Can you move the football? Can you not just have flashes, but can you have consistent, good days, one after another after another? Can you have a move-the-ball in a period that is unscripted, and can you go from the 20 to the 20 or the 50 to the goal line, wherever we start?"
If those seem like a lot of questions, buckle up. Fisch was just getting warmed up.
"Can you just make first downs?" he said. "And the guy that does the most of that will really give us a great chance. And then, how they lead the team, how they command the huddle, how they break the huddle, how they act in meeting rooms? Do they have moxie about them? And then, what's the end result?"
The end result, Fisch hopes, is someone who can lead the Wolverines to the Big Ten championship and beyond.
That someone is expected to be either redshirt junior John O'Korn or redshirt sophomore Wilton Speight. Most of the offseason speculation has either taking command of the offense.
But Fisch, at least publicly, doesn't want to limit his choice to those two.
"Yeah, I think we have two guys that are doing really well, another two guys or three guys that are right there, just continuing to compete for it," Fisch said. "I don't think it's like a slam dunk that it's between just two guys. We're not going in thinking that way. There's an opportunity to go out and take this job. It's not being given to anyone."
Behind Speight and O'Korn is redshirt junior Shane Morris, true freshman Brandon Peters and redshirt freshman Alex Malzone.
But, especially coming out of spring practice, it would be a surprise if the starter wasn't O'Korn or Speight.
O'Korn began his college career at Houston, and as a freshman threw for 3,117 yards and 28 touchdowns. When a new offensive coordinator arrived for his sophomore season, O'Korn played five games and was benched. After a new head coach was hired, he transferred to U-M.
"He's experienced, so he's played," Fisch said. "When he breaks the huddle and when he runs the offense, he knows what he's doing. He's done it before. He's done it in games, he's done it in environments, and he does everything right off the field. He's somebody that ... he wants to lead. He wants to be the guy. He wants to find a way to really take this team and run with it, and I think you can see that every day that you're around him."
Speight was Jake Rudock's backup last season when Morris elected to redshirt, and he came off the bench to lead U-M to a come-from-behind victory at Minnesota.
"Wilton is somebody that's really matured over a year," Fisch said. "I think that going into last year's camp, he's a much different person going into this year's camp. He's mature, he's taken on a lot of responsibility. The obvious game against Minnesota gave him a ton of confidence and he's excited about it. He's excited about the fact that that's not going to be the only touchdown pass he ever throws for Michigan."
