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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For yet another year, as spring progresses into summer workouts, fall camp and eventually the 2021 football season, all eyes in Ann Arbor will be on Michigan football’s quarterbacks.
Since the departure of Shea Patterson, there hasn’t been an obvious answer at the position. It’s been something of a revolving door. Last offseason, Joe Milton appeared to have won the job over Dylan McCaffrey, which led to the latter’s decision to transfer. Milton got the nod at the beginning of the 2020 season, but as he started to struggle down the stretch, Cade McNamara took over, which led to Milton’s decision to transfer.
In spring ball, there’s a number of quarterbacks battling it out, between the aforementioned McNamara, entering his third year with the program, second-year signal-caller Dan Villari and former five-star early enrollee J.J. McCarthy.
At the moment, it appears McNamara is taking the lead, but, naturally in a Jim Harbaugh-coached team, it’ll be a while before that position is earned by the starter.
“The quarterbacks’ competition and level of play has been really interesting to see,” fifth-year offensive tackle Andrew Stueber said. “Cade’s finally starting to take a more commanding role. It’s different, because last season he obviously played for us a little bit, but it’s obviously different when you think you have the starting job and now you have command of the offense. You take much more pride in it, much more intent in it.
“He’s been doing great so far. I love his poise in the pocket, the decisions he’s making. His confidence, too, is growing, so it’s great to see.
“Obviously, we have J.J. coming in. He’s still learning the playbook. But he’s shown some really impressive stuff, scrambling out of the pocket, making people miss. I know he’s known for that, so it’s really great to see that. And we also have Dan Villari, too, who is really impressive with his read option, so far. It’s been pretty nice seeing him run out of the pocket, making some moves.
“All of the quarterbacks we have right now, I’m really impressed with all of them. I hope it keeps going.”
“It’s always cool watching how talented our quarterbacks are,” senior wideout Ronnie Bell said. “I always feel lucky because I feel like if I’m in the game – if it’s Dan and I’m in the game or it’s J.J. and I’m in the game – there’s never any type of hesitation as a receiver (when) you’ve got a quarterback with that type of skill next to you. So I always just feel lucky. It’s just fun watching those guys compete, because all of them are just very, very good.”
That’s where the competition stands this spring, but come fall, a new challenger will enter the ring. Former Texas Tech starter Alan Bowman opted to transfer to Michigan this offseason, and he has 5,260 yards under his belt in just under two-and-a-half years of play.
Still, McNamara, the presumed starter at this moment, will not shy away from having such a challenge, given his mental makeup, his teammates say.
“Cade’s always had a little kick to him from a standpoint of command or lead or like a swagger,” Bell said. “He’s always had that, even when he got here as a freshman, a long time ago. For me, whether he won the job or didn’t have the job before, it was never nothing new to me about Cade. I knew Cade, I know how he attacks every day. That’s just always the kick he’s always had to himself. And that’s one thing that makes him special is that he’s never scared or shy of that.”
“Cade’s definitely a huge competitor,” Stueber said. “Obviously there’s gonna be no starter named yet. Coach Harbaugh likes to leave it up to competition with a meritocracy. But there is huge competition at the quarterback position. Obviously, you have to be a high-level competitor. Each quarterback takes great pride. At the end of each practice, we have a ‘move the ball’ drill, and each quarterback takes one drive. They each take tremendous pride in it. It can affect their mood for the rest of the day into the off-day. It’s something that they take huge pride in, they’re fighting it out in there. And it’s something that’s great to see, all the young quarterbacks battling to get out on top. It’s been amazing to watch.”
While that might be the status quo, many wonder if the Wolverines will make an early turn to McCarthy considering his high school accolades. When you come in as a five-star, the expectation is that you’ll play relatively early, even at the quarterback position.
As far as what he’s doing in spring ball, Stueber notes that McCarthy is still a work in progress, but he’s liked what he’s seen from a willingness to learn standpoint.
Though he might not be ready out of the gates, he’s doing everything he can to prepare for when his name is called.
“One time, J.J. had to throw – he still learning how to read defenses, he doesn’t know double-covered, single-covered, single high,” Stueber said. “So, he’s still learning that. Sometimes, he’ll throw it off and just seeing everyone pick him up, carry him along, then watching him in meetings learning – it’s always something great to see young players learn.”
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