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Devin Gardner: Playing QBs Of The Future Would Not Divide The Locker Room
I've exalted the effort and performance of senior quarterback Shea Patterson a few times since Saturday's loss at Penn State. It was one of his three best games at Michigan, joining a 2018 win at Northwestern and a 2018 win at Michigan State.
However, I have also suggested in the aftermath of that loss, which essentially (if not officially) eliminated U-M from the Big Ten East race, the Wolverines start sharing snaps at the quarterback position between Patterson, redshirt sophomore Dylan McCaffrey and redshirt freshman Joe Milton.
With a 2020 debut at Washington looming, Michigan would be best served by one of these two younger players getting the chance to start in a game this season.
Experience is critical and while both McCaffrey and Milton have played this year in reserve roles, and McCaffrey even came in as a sub for an injured Patterson at Notre Dame in 2018, it is a different animal to be the starter, feeling the weight of expectations for the game's outcome clearly on your shoulders.
During his weekly MMQB appearance on Ann Arbor's "Inside the Huddle" former signal-caller Devin Gardner (2010-14), who started 2+ seasons for the Wolverines, agreed.
"Let’s say Shea is the best guy for the job but he can do nothing else for Michigan football from here on out [this season]," Gardner said. "Our goals – Big Ten Championship, national championship, New Years 6 bowl - those goals are out of reach. The business of college football is we have to play for the future.
"Do you continue to not get the future [of the position] reps, whether it’s Dylan McCaffrey or Joe Milton?"
During his senior season in 2014, Gardner momentarily had his starting job taken away from him and given to sophomore Shane Morris after the Wolverines opened the season 2-2 with a Week 4 loss to Utah. Morris started against Minnesota and went 7 for 19 (36.8 percent) for 49 yards and an interception before being knocked out of the game with an apparent head injury.
Gardner entered the game with Michigan trailing 30-7 in the fourth quarter and proceeded to guide the Maize and Blue 65 yards for a touchdown, but it was too late. He started the rest of the season and went 3-4 in Brady Hoke's final year.
Gardner didn't agree with the decision, as a competitor, and because the Wolverines had yet to play a Big Ten game and he felt he represented the best chance to be successful in conference play. In today's case, U-M is already out of the Big Ten picture.
"It sucks," he said. "Being a guy that has been there … if you’re Shea, you’d be pissed too. He’s probably the best guy for the job right now because of his experience, but it’s entirely about business, and getting the future ready. That's the ugly of college football."
If it's ugly, wouldn't that posit, as a number of Michigan fans responding to my article on Twitter have suggested, a change in quarterbacks, even if done strategically, could negatively impact the team and blow up the rest of this season?
"The locker room divide argument is not a thing because they like Dylan and they like Joe, and they think they can play," Gardner said. "You have two guys working their tails off to be the starter, and have proven to have some skill … they can play at this level.
"Their teammates will go out and play hard.
"These seniors are playing for their football lives. They have aspirations to play on the next level so they will play hard. And they have seen these guys in practice, and know they’re putting in the work, and see their talent.
"I don’t think [attitude and effort] will be a problem. I don’t think the locker room falls apart because they put in some young guys for the future. I actually think the team would be excited."
You can listen to the entirety of Gardner's MMQB by licking on the podcast below. You can listen live Mondays at 12pm on 1050AM, WTKA.com or the WTKA app.
