Fall Camp Update: The Quarterback Battle
Cade McNamara vs. JJ McCarthy. That position battle is at the forefront of every Michigan fan's mind. There are plenty of reasons to go with both young men, and honestly not many reasons to put either guy on the bench. That's what makes the battle so intriguing. After three or four practices one thing is clear, the decision is not going to be an easy one.
“We won’t know anything on the quarterbacks until the Maryland game and probably not until the Iowa game,” an astute practice observer said. “Any other chatter about who is leading in practice is worthless because it doesn’t matter. Both are going to play significantly in the non conference games.”
Like everyone else, our observer is torn because both McNamara and McCarthy do bring a lot to the table. You can look at last year and see what Cade is capable of, while also easily picturing a world where the offense is better with McCarthy at the helm.
“I’ve never seen a quarterback race like this," the observer said. "The best comparison is probably 1997 when you had a few guys that were really pushing but Brian Griese made the most sense for that team.”
So who makes the most sense for this year's team?
“If Haskins was still on the team, I think Cade would be the guy," the observer said. "But this offense is potentially so explosive with some different types of running backs than Michigan has had in a long time. I think JJ is the guy but I don’t know if Harbaugh will pull the trigger. Harbaugh wants one of these guys to separate in the first 3-4 games but definitely knows that the Iowa game looms large. The Iowa game will be the signal to the team who the coaches’ guy is and who they should rally around for the rest of the year.”
This all just adds more intrigue to the battle. Now I find myself asking, "are the quarterbacks going to get a 50/50 split through the first three our four games?" Because that's going to make for some very interesting football against three/four inferior opponents. After those first four, is Harbaugh going to pull the trigger and name a permanent starter for the road test in Iowa City? And will that then be the guy for the rest of the year?
So many questions...28 more days.
