It went down the wire, but Wilton Speight is a starting quarterback again.

The former man under center for Michigan won the job at UCLA on Thursday, beating out two others to earn the right to start Saturday against Cincinnati (7 p.m., ESPN), head coach Chip Kelly announced.

Speight, a graduate transfer, reportedly edged out redshirt sophomore Devin Modster and true freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson in fall camp.

Head Coach Chip Kelly has named Wilton Speight the starting QB for the home opener vs. Cincinnati!#GoBruins | #BeatCincy pic.twitter.com/7UTocUHVl2 — UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) August 30, 2018

The move is a significant one for the 6-foot-6, 232-pound Speight, who started 15 games at Michigan but suffered a serious, season-ending back injury four games into the 2017 season.

He rehabbed and reportedly left the door open for a return to Michigan, which has since named University of Mississippi transfer Shea Patterson its starter.

In three seasons in Ann Arbor, he threw for 3,192 yards and 22 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions, and endured two separate quarterback competitions.

In 2016, Speight beat out Houston transfer John O'Korn and Shane Morris for the Wolverines' starting job. And on the night before the season opener in 2017, Speight found out he won the job over fifth-year senior O'Korn and redshirt freshman Brandon Peters.

Speight announced his decision to leave Michigan in late-November, a decision fueled, at least in part, by a desire not to go through another quarterback competition.

"I've proven time and time again that I love competition," Speight said. "I came out on top two years in a row. I've been here four years in a row.

"It's just one of these things that it's just time to move on."

But his announcement in April, and subsequent arrival in Westwood over the summer, set off just that. Kelly, his first year at UCLA, had five quarterbacks to choose from to replace first-round NFL draft pick Josh Rosen.

Speight will be that guy, at least for now.