Speight says he’s leaving Wolverines

Wilton Speight’s football career at Michigan has ended.

A fourth-year junior quarterback from Virginia and the team’s starter for parts of the last two seasons, Speight announced his plans to spend a fifth season elsewhere on Sunday via social media.

After beating out John O’Korn for the starting job during the summer of 2016, Speight started 12 games for the Wolverines last season — completing 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,538 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Speight once again won the job out of fall camp this season but saw his season cut short after suffering three cracked vertebrae after a hit at Purdue in late September — Michigan’s fourth game of the season.

He returned to the practice field in a non-contact capacity in each of the past two weeks but was never cleared for play.

With Speight out, Michigan went to O’Korn — a fifthyear senior — for three starts before ultimately going with redshirt freshman Brandon Peters. Peters threw for 486 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions during a relief appearance against Rutgers and starts against Minnesota, Maryland and Wisconsin. He was knocked out of the loss at Wisconsin two weeks ago and did not clear concussion protocol in time for the Ohio State game.

Once Speight graduates, he’ll be eligible to play immediately at another Football Bowl Subdivision school in 2018.