Jim Harbaugh leaves door open for Brandon Peters to become starting QB
For Michigan, it was time for a change.
And on Saturday, the Wolverines finally made one, giving the offensive reins over to quarterback Brandon Peters. Peters, a highly touted redshirt freshman, took over for benched starter John O’Korn in the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Rutgers.
And after the Wolverines’ 35-14 win at Michigan Stadium, Michigan coach John Harbaugh took it a step further, telling reporters that he feels good about Peters “taking the next step as starting quarterback.”
Harbaugh also said he made the decision before the game that Peters was going to play, noting “it was time for him to play.”
“He did better than everyone thought, too,” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh on Peters: "I feel good about way he played.. about moving ahead with him as the starting QB.. with him knowing he's starting QB"
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) October 28, 2017
The crowd in Ann Arbor seemingly agreed with Harbaugh, giving Peters a huge ovation as he checked into the game with 7:01 left in the first half to replace O’Korn.
“Played very, very well,” Harbaugh said of Peters. “He did a lot and from the first time he went in there, just feeling the deep zone and feeling the linebackers drop and taking an extra half second to take a breath and getting the check down, it was good ball and he was good.”
Harbaugh on Peters pic.twitter.com/6LwhfroNTV
— angelique (@chengelis) October 28, 2017
O’Korn was 3-of-6 for 13 yards and an interception before getting benched. On the season, O’Korn had completed 61-of-110 passes for 729 yards and threw for one touchdown with four interceptions.
After entering the game in the second quarter, Peters was 10-of-14 for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Before Peters was summoned from the bench, Michigan’s offense was struggling to get anything going and the game was tied 7-7.
Peters threw his first collegiate touchdown pass with to running back Chris Evans to give Michigan a 21-7 lead.
You could say that @UMichFootball QB @_B_P_18 is off to a good start. pic.twitter.com/Vw2S5OVZDx
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 28, 2017
Michigan fans have been clamoring for a quarterback change for awhile now. Now that time has come with Peters coming in as the sixth-best pro-style quarterback at the time of his recruitment, according to Rivals.com.
More college football coverage from Yahoo Sports:
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• Giant-killer Iowa State upsets No. 4 TCU
• Tulsa WR has TD taken away for high-stepping
• No. 9 Notre Dame runs past No. 13 NC State
