ANN ARBOR -- Last spring, the Michigan quarterback situation and Brandon Peters' upside was all anyone wanted to talk about.

Sure, he might have needed another year or seasoning, but there was a feeling (and evidence from his spring game) that he would be able to compete for the starting job in the fall.

Then came preseason camp, and things changed. The playbook opened up. Competition heated up with Wilton Speight and fifth-year senior John O'Korn. Midway through, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh proclaimed it a two-man race -- and Peters was not included.

"I was making some mental errors I shouldn't have made," Peters, a redshirt freshman, told reporters on Tuesday. "I think coach lost a little confidence in me throughout camp. So, I think that set me back a little bit."

Peters describes those "mental errors" as little things. Not making the right reads in practice. Fumbling the snap. There was even a time where he wasn't calling the right play in the huddle.

That forced Michigan passing-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton to sit Peters down. He told him to relax.

"I think I just lost a little focus," Peters said. "The more and more reps, you're going to get better at it. (But) it changed a little bit from spring ball. Because we opened the playbook a little more."

Fast forward nearly three months and things have changed drastically. Speight fractured his vertebrae Week 4 at Purdue, while O'Korn struggled to be that consistent game manager Harbaugh had sought.

That opened up the door for the shy, quiet Peters to make his first collegiate start, completing 8 of his 13 passes for 56 yards in a 33-10 win over Minnesota. He was Michigan's third quarterback to start a game this season.

"Nothing close to an interception. Nothing close to turning the ball over," Harbaugh said earlier this week. "Even though he took some big shots in the pocket, I thought he hung onto the ball. He did things to help us keep from losing the ball game. Things to help us win the ball game."

And for the time being, it might stay that way. Michigan's run game continues to hum at an impressive clip, making life in the pocket easier for Peters. He only attempted 13 passes against the Golden Gophers, and 14 the week prior against Rutgers, leaving the door open to showcase more in the coming weeks.

Peters is slated to start for Michigan again on Saturday at Maryland, his first time starting a collegiate game on the road.

"I got a pretty good grasp of the offense," Peters said. "There wasn't much change from last year's offense. A lot of it carried over. So, I mean, I've been kind of in this process for 2 1/2 years now."

Looking back, Peters realized at the end of camp it would be a long shot for him to rise up the depth chart. Third-string quarterbacks rarely see the field, let alone play snaps of any significant.

Yet here is, quirks and all, ready to hold down the job for the foreseeable future. And he knows what he has to do.

"Make plays," Peters said. "Control the offense. No turnovers."

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