Kornacki: O'Korn Provides Spark with Signature Play
11/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The player of the game definitely knew what the play of the game was, and it was made by his quarterback.
John O'Korn, filling in for Wilton Speight, his close friend and the guy who beat him out for the starting job, ignited the University of Michigan offense Saturday (Nov. 19) with a spirited 30-yard run.
"When John took off on that run, that's who really sparked us," said Wolverines tailback De'Veon Smith, who rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns. "That's really what got the offensive line going."
O'Korn began the play by taking the snap from center Mason Cole and making a play-fake. The Indiana defenders quickly broke through the line, though, and it was time to improvise. O'Korn eluded linebacker Marcus Oliver's outstretched arms and put the ball in his right hand before running left.
The fleet quarterback pump-faked as he turned the corner and then sprinted down the sideline as the crowd roared louder with each stride. Something magical had begun happening for an offense that had been stagnant for more than six quarters, dating back to the loss at Iowa.
He carried the ball 30 yards, to the Indiana 34-yard line, before Jonathan Crawford and Robert McCray III brought him down. O'Korn immediately jumped to his feet and thrust his fist into the air.
"I was fired up," said O'Korn. "I missed some throws that I would've liked to have had back, but God gave me legs as well, and I was able to use them on that play. I had an opportunity to make a play, and I'm thankful that I did."
He recalled the play after the 20-10 win over Indiana.
"We were throwing a smash route to the right corner on a hitch," said O'Korn. "Somebody (Oliver) broke through and I was able to evade him to the left. I saw a lot of open field, and had another guy (Amara Darboh) running a corner post on the back side to kind of open up that whole left side of the field. I broke that first tackle in the backfield, and there was a whole lot of green. There was a guy around my ankles at some point, and I was able to make him miss.
"Jehu (Chesson) threw a great block there (along the sideline), and our receivers have been blocking great all year. As soon as I cut back, I thought I was gone, but somebody got me from behind."
O'Korn had run down the field and into the hearts of Michigan fans. Whether he starts the rest of the season or Speight returns for Saturday's (Nov. 26) game at Ohio State, O'Korn carved his niche in this season in this game with that inspirational play.
With the shot at a national championship and likely the Big Ten title hanging in the balance, O'Korn was the one who turned the tide.
"That was a big play, a signature play for a quarterback in a big game," said Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh. "The throw he made to Amara to extend our last drive. He did a lot of good things."
One play after O'Korn's (8) 30-yard run, Smith (4) gave Michigan its first lead.
It hasn't been easy to prepare every minute of every day as if he might come into the game for the next play. O'Korn threw for 3,117 yards and led all true freshmen with 28 touchdown passes at Houston in 2013, lost the starting job the next season to Greg Ward Jr. when the coaching staff and offense changed, and transferred to Michigan because he was attracted to the university and playing for Harbaugh.
O'Korn figured he could start here for two seasons, but Speight won the job.
How has he dealt with the challenges that brought?
"Let's be honest," O'Korn told me. "It's been challenging for me as an individual, but it's strengthened me. It's made me so much stronger. It's made me so much better of a teammate. It made me work that much harder, prepare that much harder. It's one of those things that when opportunity presents itself, you don't want to give it back.
"But whatever the coaches decide, no matter how Wilton's rehab goes this week, I'm supporting that 100 percent. And he's done an outstanding job this year. We really are the best of friends. You can't fake that, you know. So, I'm so proud of him. And whatever the coaches decide we'll both be ready next week."
How did the friendship between two guys competing for the same job begin?
"Honestly," said O'Korn, "last year I really wasn't a threat. It was nice and easy for us to get along. We got along great and hung around all the time last year. And spring ball came around, and things were a little tense. But we still hung out outside of football. We're still doing a lot together.
"We talked about that going into spring ball. We said, 'This is on us.' I've been a part of locker rooms that have been divided before, and the team doesn't win because of it. So, we both took ownership of that and made a big effort to keep our locker room together and keep our quarterback room together."
Speight has thrown for 2,156 yards with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions and has grown with each game. He was injured late in the loss at Iowa but was dressed for Indiana and threw some in pregame drills.
Harbaugh said Speight was "day to day" and wouldn't commit to who would start next week.
If that starter is O'Korn, he received some invaluable preparation against Indiana. He completed only 7-of-16 passes for 59 yards in a game with stiff, 20-30 mph winds and heavy snow in the fourth quarter. Still, despite the conditions, he was the first to say he should've done better.
What was most important, though, was the way he carried himself in the second half. He began to set up in the pocket confidently, play freely and finding some rhythm. It had been two years since O'Korn played with a first-string unit against an opponent, but he began clicking in true game speed in the second half.
He began looking confident.
"There was a play that I scrambled around a little bit in the backfield," said O'Korn, "and Jehu was wide open in the flat, and I made an awkward throw and just missed him by a few inches. But if I hit him, he might walk into the end zone.
"I came off the field to talk to Coach (Jedd) Fisch (the passing game coordinator), and he said, 'You know, you've got to make a play.' That was when I felt more confident and eager to make a play. I knew my teammates needed me. So, that's where the confidence came from."
Michigan got the ball back at its own seven-yard line with 9:42 remaining and the outcome still in doubt. O'Korn hit Darboh for 12 yards on third-and-seven, absorbed a late hit that brought a personal foul call and another first down, and engineered a drive that included a fourth-and-one conversion run by Smith.
That drive ended at the Indiana 40-yard line with 53 seconds to play, killing 8:49 and any hopes the Hoosiers had.
The faithful chanted "BEAT OHIO!" as the snow fell harder and harder. Cheerleaders did snow angels, and the final seconds ticked away in what seemed like a snow globe scene.
"It was like a dream out there," said O'Korn. "Like the scene in a movie. We're driving down the field at the end and putting a nice drive together. We get a few first downs and it starts to just blizzard.
"The blizzard takes over, and I walk into the huddle and say, 'This is freakin' awesome!' And the guys were like, 'OK, what's the play?' But it was cool. That's why we play the game. At heart, we're all kids, and we love to play the game. That's why we put up with the two-a-days and put up with the four-hour-long spring practices. It's for moments like that, and we're just kids.
"We love the game. That's why we play it."
