Wilton Speight, Jim Harbaugh have another thing in common
The similarities between Wilton Speight and Jim Harbaugh are obvious.
Both took on the role of Michigan quarterback with a fearless, confident mindset. Those characteristics helped them lead high-powered offenses to national prominence.
Look at a picture of 21-year-old Harbaugh and put it alongside Speight, and one might think they’re related. Though they come from separate backgrounds, they share many a common ground.
Apparently they both went through a similar process before they were named the starter. Speight surprised some when he said on Tuesday that he nearly left Michigan in the fall of 2015 because he thought he’d never get to start.
As it turned out, Harbaugh knew exactly what Speight felt like.
“I remember my own career, I thought there was a time where I wasn’t going to play at Michigan,” Harbaugh said Thursday on 97.1-AM in Detroit. “And I was told that. I called my dad. It was like deja vu reading what Wilton was saying. That happened to me my sophomore year.”
RELATED: Wilton Speight had wheels in motion to transfer from Michigan
Harbaugh stuck it out and went 23-3-1 as a starter at Michigan and led the team to a Fiesta Bowl win and a Rose Bowl berth. He also won a B1G title his senior year, which helped him get drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bears.
The club of “near Michigan quarterback transfers” had one other prominent member, according to Harbaugh. He speculated that Tom Brady also debated leaving Ann Arbor when he was buried on the Michigan depth chart.
It looks like Speight could be following in some successful footsteps.