ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jack Tuttle came from Indiana to Ann Arbor knowing that he will not suddenly be crowned the starter. Instead, the sixth-year quarterback arrives at the third school of his career and will back up former five-star and entrenched starter J.J. McCarthy.
He detailed why he came to Michigan football on Thursday, but just as important as his development — he may be called upon in crucial moments after all — is how well McCarthy is playing. So, what has he learned about McCarthy since he arrived on campus this winter?
His first impression of the third-year dynamo is that he doesn’t act like one of the stars in college football.
“Yeah, so most people will kind of look at a guy like J.J. — quarterback, you know, big-time guy. They might think he’s arrogant or something like that,” Tuttle said. “That dude is the most down-to-earth person, like I can’t say (enough) — he’s a great human being, great football player. I love being around him. I’m stoked to be his teammate — and the whole quarterback room. I’m just stoked to be in there. Such good dudes.
“So really, really love the guy so far. It’s been phenomenal. I can’t wait to see where we go.”
Whenever Tuttle has seen McCarthy making plays on the practice field, it’s no surprise. And he wouldn’t have been surprised even if he wasn’t watching him in person, knowing what he already knew about McCarthy before he arrived in Ann Arbor.
“I always knew he could spin the ball for sure,” Tuttle said. “And as a player, I obviously see him on film and person, play together, all that stuff. Not sure there’s — I knew that before coming in, he just kind of confirmed he’s a really good football player. And all of us get to learn stuff from each other and get better from that. So it’s super exciting. And the progress in the quarterback room is awesome. It’s great.”
But is there anything that McCarthy does that just wows him? Considering how much Wolverines of the past year-plus have frequently mentioned McCarthy’s uncanny ability to channel Kansas City Chiefs star QB Patrick Mahomes, you’d think that Tuttle would mention something like that — or his scrambling ability, his arm angles, his arm strength.
Instead, Tuttle praised McCarthy’s fundamentals, as well as his ability to play within what might not look like a tough system, but one that’s designed akin to the upper-echelon offenses in the NFL.
“There’s several things and, obviously, Michigan gets under center, (is) multiple, does a lot of stuff on offense,” Tuttle said. And, footwork-wise, I’m looking at them like, ‘Wow! I haven’t really been under center since high school.’ So just looking at his footwork and that stuff and how he’s progressed over the past couple of years.
“Just taking little things that he does and maybe implementing it and some of the other things other guys do — Davis Warren, Alex Orji — some things they do and maybe implement that here and there, and then they do the same. So it’s been great. Progress has definitely happened.”
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