A month ago, John O'Korn stood in front of reporters at Michigan’s Schembechler Hall and talked about how thrilled he was for his teammate Wilton Speight's success. He said he didn’t mind that the younger, taller quarterback had beaten him out for the starting job in a close battle this August as long as the team kept winning.

"Zero complaints," he told reporters.

A few weeks later, O'Korn handed a ball off to freshman running back Chris Evans during mop-up duty of a blowout win against Maryland. Evans sidestepped his way through the defense as O'Korn sprinted beside him and drove a linebacker into the sideline as Evans stepped out of bounds. The score was 52-3.

Michigan coaches say O'Korn prepares diligently each week. Teammates say he is one of the best note-takers on the team and a consistent source of positivity in the locker room, steering conversations toward his faith and his work ethic rather than his spot on the depth chart. In short, O'Korn says and does all the things a coach would want from his No. 2 quarterback. This week he might finally get the chance to see if he can do and say all the right things as a starter, too.

Speight, who started the first 10 games of the season for No. 3 Michigan, appeared to injure his non-throwing shoulder in Saturday's loss to Iowa. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said his starter "could be" a game-time decision, but multiple sources told ESPN.com that Speight is not expected to play this weekend. Harbaugh conceded that Speight isn’t likely to practice early in the week.

"I especially would anticipate today, the next couple days at least, that [O'Korn and fellow backup Shane Morris will] get the majority of the reps. It’ll be good practice for them, but they’ve both had extensive practice time through the course of the year, and yes, we are confident they will do a good job."

If he is needed, O'Korn isn’t new to a starter’s role. He transferred to Michigan from Houston, where he won AAC freshman of the year honors as a rookie quarterback for the Cougars. He split time with current Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. as a sophomore before ultimately losing the job and deciding to look for a fresh start.

In eight appearances as a backup, Michigan's John O'Korn has completed 13 of 18 attempts for two touchdowns and no interceptions. Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire

O'Korn's athleticism dazzled at times during his two years at Houston, which made him the presumptive Wolverine quarterback of the future when he came to Ann Arbor during Harbaugh’s first year. He sat out his obligatory NCAA transfer year in 2015 while watching fellow St. Thomas Aquinas High School graduate Jake Rudock grow into the job he hoped to take in 2016.

This summer, though, Michigan’s coaches decided that Speight had a bit more of the mature decision-making gene on the field that they had come to really appreciate with Rudock leading the offense.

"John can drop your jaw on a play instantly," said private quarterback coach Ken Mastrole, who has worked with O'Korn since he was a junior in high school. "In football that can either win you games or it can become a turnover or an inconsistency. I think that’s something he’s worked on. I think he’s relied on the arm and the legs a little bit."

Mastrole said O'Korn has grown in his ability to play within the offense since coming to Michigan. He credits Harbaugh and offensive assistant Jedd Fisch with keeping O'Korn engaged while teaching him how they want him to harness his speed and strong throwing arm. Living with Rudock for the 2015 school year helped in that development, too. Mastrole said spending so much time with Rudock helped make O'Korn "a little more boring," which is a good quality to have while operating an offense.

So far, in eight appearances as a backup, O'Korn has not gotten into trouble by trying to do too much. He has completed 13 of his 18 pass attempts for two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The athleticism hasn’t gone away. Teammates say they saw O'Korn make big plays last season while working with the scout team, and have seen it this fall when he gets his reps in practice. Tight end and captain Jake Butt said he doesn’t expect the offense to change or experience any kind of dropoff if O'Korn has to take over for Speight this weekend.

"They’ve both got great arms, great accuracy," Butt said. "Both throw a tight spiral and spin the ball really well. John might rely on his feet a little bit more as we saw in the spring game. Wilton is a little bit bigger and he stands in the pocket. With both of them, the name of the game is just get the job done. Both of them have done that, can do that and will do that."

O'Korn, when he last spoke to reporters in October, said he of course was disappointed and challenged by losing the competition for a starting job in training camp. Since then, he said he's done his best to be the consummate No. 2. None of that means that he’s sure to seize an opportunity if it comes, but this week might at last be his chance to see if it pays off.