Michigan’s quarterback battle has been one of the most intriguing of the offseason, but it’s still not decided with a Week 1 game against Colorado State on the horizon. Instead, the No. 8 Wolverines will give Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy a chance to start a game each before making a decision, marking the continuation of the competition until the 2022 season.
Coach Jim Harbaugh announced on Saturday that McNamara, the outgoing starter, will start the season opener against the Rams while McCarthy, last year’s replacement, will take the first-team snaps in the week. 2 against Hawaii. A full-time starter and backup will then be created in Week 3 based on each quarterback’s starting performance.
“We made a decision“Both quarterbacks played very well – they did everything they could … to win the starting job,” Harbaugh said in a statement. Coming out of camp, I just feel like we have two quarterbacks, Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy, that we’re very confident we can win a championship with either one behind center. »
McNamara threw for 2,576 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions last year, while McCarthy threw for 516 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions as a backup and substitution option.
“It’s good for our team, but there’s only one ball and only one quarterback can be there at a time,” Harbaugh said.
Let’s break down what this means for Michigan going forward…
The calendar allows indecision
The old adage says that if you have two quarterbacks, you actually have none. That’s not necessarily the case here, however.
Would Harbaugh make the decision to go with a different starter in the first two weeks if Michigan played a tough non-conference schedule? Probably not, but he doesn’t have to worry about that with the Rams and Rainbow Warriors coming to Ann Arbor to start the year.
Harbaugh uses the first two games of the season as auditions, then he gets the luxury of playing at UConn in Week 3. The eventual winner of the quarterback battle can then get four full quarterbacks under his belt before the Wolverines won’t host Maryland in their Big Ten opens Sept. 24.
It’s not ideal that the competition has bled into the season – every coach wants an undisputed No. 1 flagger before Week 1 – but that’s not necessarily cause for concern. Harbaugh allowed himself the luxury of not being rushed into making a premature decision, and he made it.
Is there a benefit, however?
It’s one thing to choose between two top stallions who have proven to be the difference in college. This is not the case here, however. McNamara was more of a game manager during last season’s run to the Big Ten championship and his place in the college football playoffs, and it showed in the Orange Bowl when the Wolverines couldn’t muster anything. offensively against eventual national champion Georgia.
Is that all McNamara can provide, or is there more to the tank than he didn’t show last season? That’s the mystery, and that’s why there are doubts about whether this is a championship-caliber team heading into the season.
Did McCarthy create a competitive culture that raised the bar for both players, or has the former Class of 2021 five-star prospect failed to live up to the hype? Perhaps he failed to pass McNamara despite much fanfare. These appear to be the only two options, and that’s why there’s lingering doubt over the future of Harbaugh’s Wolverines.
require.config({"baseUrl":"https:\/\/sportsfly.cbsistatic.com\/fly-0308\/bundles\/sportsmediajs\/js-build","config":{"version":{"fly\/components\/accordion":"1.0","fly\/components\/alert":"1.0","fly\/components\/base":"1.0","fly\/components\/carousel":"1.0","fly\/components\/dropdown":"1.0","fly\/components\/fixate":"1.0","fly\/components\/form-validate":"1.0","fly\/components\/image-gallery":"1.0","fly\/components\/iframe-messenger":"1.0","fly\/components\/load-more":"1.0","fly\/components\/load-more-article":"1.0","fly\/components\/load-more-scroll":"1.0","fly\/components\/loading":"1.0","fly\/components\/modal":"1.0","fly\/components\/modal-iframe":"1.0","fly\/components\/network-bar":"1.0","fly\/components\/poll":"1.0","fly\/components\/search-player":"1.0","fly\/components\/social-button":"1.0","fly\/components\/social-counts":"1.0","fly\/components\/social-links":"1.0","fly\/components\/tabs":"1.0","fly\/components\/video":"1.0","fly\/libs\/easy-xdm":"2.4.17.1","fly\/libs\/jquery.cookie":"1.2","fly\/libs\/jquery.throttle-debounce":"1.1","fly\/libs\/jquery.widget":"1.9.2","fly\/libs\/omniture.s-code":"1.0","fly\/utils\/jquery-mobile-init":"1.0","fly\/libs\/jquery.mobile":"1.3.2","fly\/libs\/backbone":"1.0.0","fly\/libs\/underscore":"1.5.1","fly\/libs\/jquery.easing":"1.3","fly\/managers\/ad":"2.0","fly\/managers\/components":"1.0","fly\/managers\/cookie":"1.0","fly\/managers\/debug":"1.0","fly\/managers\/geo":"1.0","fly\/managers\/gpt":"4.3","fly\/managers\/history":"2.0","fly\/managers\/madison":"1.0","fly\/managers\/social-authentication":"1.0","fly\/utils\/data-prefix":"1.0","fly\/utils\/data-selector":"1.0","fly\/utils\/function-natives":"1.0","fly\/utils\/guid":"1.0","fly\/utils\/log":"1.0","fly\/utils\/object-helper":"1.0","fly\/utils\/string-helper":"1.0","fly\/utils\/string-vars":"1.0","fly\/utils\/url-helper":"1.0","libs\/jshashtable":"2.1","libs\/select2":"3.5.1","libs\/jsonp":"2.4.0","libs\/jquery\/mobile":"1.4.5","libs\/modernizr.custom":"2.6.2","libs\/velocity":"1.2.2","libs\/dataTables":"1.10.6","libs\/dataTables.fixedColumns":"3.0.4","libs\/dataTables.fixedHeader":"2.1.2","libs\/dateformat":"1.0.3","libs\/waypoints\/infinite":"3.1.1","libs\/waypoints\/inview":"3.1.1","libs\/waypoints\/jquery.waypoints":"3.1.1","libs\/waypoints\/sticky":"3.1.1","libs\/jquery\/dotdotdot":"1.6.1","libs\/jquery\/flexslider":"2.1","libs\/jquery\/lazyload":"1.9.3","libs\/jquery\/maskedinput":"1.3.1","libs\/jquery\/marquee":"1.3.1","libs\/jquery\/numberformatter":"1.2.3","libs\/jquery\/placeholder":"0.2.4","libs\/jquery\/scrollbar":"0.1.6","libs\/jquery\/tablesorter":"2.0.5","libs\/jquery\/touchswipe":"1.6.18","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.core":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.draggable":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.mouse":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.position":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.slider":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.sortable":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.touch-punch":"0.2.3","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.autocomplete":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.accordion":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.tabs":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.menu":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.dialog":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.resizable":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.button":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.tooltip":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.effects":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.datepicker":"1.11.4"}},"shim":{"liveconnection\/managers\/connection":{"deps":["liveconnection\/libs\/sockjs-0.3.4"]},"liveconnection\/libs\/sockjs-0.3.4":{"exports":"SockJS"},"libs\/setValueFromArray":{"exports":"set"},"libs\/getValueFromArray":{"exports":"get"},"fly\/libs\/jquery.mobile-1.3.2":["version!fly\/utils\/jquery-mobile-init"],"libs\/backbone.marionette":{"deps":["jquery","version!fly\/libs\/underscore","version!fly\/libs\/backbone"],"exports":"Marionette"},"fly\/libs\/underscore-1.5.1":{"exports":"_"},"fly\/libs\/backbone-1.0.0":{"deps":["version!fly\/libs\/underscore","jquery"],"exports":"Backbone"},"libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4":["jquery","version!libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.core","version!fly\/libs\/jquery.widget"],"libs\/jquery\/flexslider-2.1":["jquery"],"libs\/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4":["jquery","version!libs\/dataTables"],"libs\/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2":["jquery","version!libs\/dataTables"],"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/js\/CBSi\/app\/VideoPlayer\/AdobePass-min.js":["https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/js\/CBSi\/util\/Utils-min.js"]},"map":{"*":{"adobe-pass":"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/js\/CBSi\/app\/VideoPlayer\/AdobePass-min.js","facebook":"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js","facebook-debug":"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all\/debug.js","google":"https:\/\/apis.google.com\/js\/plusone.js","google-platform":"https:\/\/apis.google.com\/js\/client:platform.js","google-csa":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/adsense\/search\/async-ads.js","google-javascript-api":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/jsapi","google-client-api":"https:\/\/apis.google.com\/js\/api:client.js","gpt":"https:\/\/securepubads.g.doubleclick.net\/tag\/js\/gpt.js","hlsjs":"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/hls.js\/1.0.7\/hls.js","recaptcha":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit","recaptcha_ajax":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api\/js\/recaptcha_ajax.js","supreme-golf":"https:\/\/sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com\/search\/assets\/js\/bundle.js","taboola":"https:\/\/cdn.taboola.com\/libtrc\/cbsinteractive-cbssports\/loader.js","twitter":"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js","video-avia":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.4.0\/player\/avia.min.js","video-avia-ui":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.4.0\/plugins\/ui\/avia.ui.min.js","video-avia-gam":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.4.0\/plugins\/gam\/avia.gam.min.js","video-avia-hls":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.4.0\/plugins\/hls\/avia.hls.min.js","video-avia-playlist":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.4.0\/plugins\/playlist\/avia.playlist.min.js","video-ima3":"https:\/\/imasdk.googleapis.com\/js\/sdkloader\/ima3.js","video-ima3-dai":"https:\/\/imasdk.googleapis.com\/js\/sdkloader\/ima3_dai.js","video-utils":"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/js\/CBSi\/util\/Utils-min.js","video-vast-tracking":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/sb55\/vast-js\/vtg-vast-client.js"}},"waitSeconds":300});
