The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1083898
understood why. Reno (Nev.) Bishop Manogue head coach Ernie Howren, whose team beat McNamara in the state playoffs this year, finished 2-3 against McNamara over four years, but still loves talking about him. "We had a game against him all four years," Howren said. "It's almost im- possible to prepare for him, just on fact that you can't mimic things he can do. What he does so well … it's his ability to make any throw in the book, because nobody has an arm like him. "Right from the beginning we knew how good he was going to be. When you ask for his best attribute, I say, 'All of the above.' "I think one area where people have underrated him coming into college is his toughness. He gets hit and just keeps ticking like nothing happened. I was blown away how tough he is. That and his mental toughness, the leader- ship he brings with all of that." McNamara finished his career with 146 touchdowns and 12,084 yards passing, both Nevada state records. He threw for 2,995 yards and 39 touch- downs against just six interceptions while leading his team to the Northern 4A Region title game during his senior season, and he threw for 3,470 yards and 44 touchdowns as a junior when his team fell in the state semifinals. Though he threw for more than 2,000 yards as a true freshman, McNamara really burst on to the scene as a sopho- more, when he passed for 3,577 yards and 46 touchdowns, the latter still a Nevada single-season record. His team made the state semifinals and won a regional title that season. He then became the first player in state history to win Gatorade Player of the year honors in consecutive seasons, capturing it in 2017 and 2018. "That's a huge accomplishment for me," McNamara told local Reno tele- vision before he left for Michigan. "I faced some adversity early in my ca- reer … but to see where I am now, my numbers now, I couldn't have done it by myself." As good as he was in high school, McNamara knows he still has plenty more to learn. He's put his faith in Har- baugh to bring out his best, noting the two hit it off right away during the re- cruiting process. "He's super easy going, real easy to talk to, very genuine," McNamara con- tinued. "Some people don't think it's real, but it really is him, how nice he is. He's truly a good man. "Making the switch from Notre Dame and finding the place where I could share a good relationship was a really big thing for me, and I felt like Michigan and Coach Harbaugh pre- sented that opportunity better than anybody else." Harbaugh's getting a great leader in addition to a great quarterback, How- ren praised. That's one of the reasons he went for two in overtime after Da- monte Ranch scored first and kicked the extra point in the regional title game, won by Manogue, 49-48. "You can feel the energy when he's out there," Howren said. "He never blamed any of his teammates if they did something wrong, always accepted responsibility. "We weren't going to get into an overtime shootout with him. He can make every throw in the book, is so physically gifted and so smart, and works so hard at his craft. His ability to move is underrated, too. They didn't run zone read in high school, but had he done it he would have been great with that, too." They're going to love him in Ann Ar- bor, Howren predicted. McNamara is confident he's going to love the Michi- gan experience just as much. "It's very exciting, something I've been working for, for a really long time," he said. "For me to finally earn that opportunity to play at that level I've been dreaming of, I couldn't be happier." ❏ DID YOU KNOW? • His father, Gary McNamara, played base- ball at Fresno State, where he was the starting center fielder in 1992 and 1993. Gary was then an assistant baseball coach at the University of Nevada for six seasons. THEY SAID IT • Former NFL quarterback and Elite 11 coach Trent Dilfer: "There are very few thick-jointed guys who also have twitch, and he's one of them. It's rare to find a guy that has the thick knees and wrists, the big shoulders and the big bottom half, but who are still twitchy. If you want to compare him to someone, he's [former NFL Pro Bowler] Tony Romo with a better arm. "He kind of has that baller mentality too. I put him in my gunslinger category. He's going to hang in there until the last second and make a play for him team. … He just has that natu- ral, intuitive playmaking ability." • Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney: "McNamara is a pro-style quarterback who is a great leader and who can run an offense very proficiently. … I love his moxie, his competitive edge and his ability to keep an offense moving. "He is not going to wow you with mind-boggling athleti- cism or arm strength, but he's not going to make mistakes. McNamara is a heady, skilled quarterback who will move an offense down the field without turning it over." • Reno Gazette Journal prep sports reporter Jim Krajew- ski: "He has been preparing to be a top-level col- lege quarterback since he was young. He knew he wanted to play for a D-I school back in seventh, eighth grade. He started attending elite-level quarterback camps and training sessions all over the West Coast, starting about four or five years ago. "He has matured mentally and physically. He spends every day, year- round, working out and preparing to be a quarterback. He is often on the football field throwing passes to his brothers or to anyone he can find. He is a student of the game and usu- ally knows what plays will or should be called throughout the game." MARCH 2019 THE WOLVERINE 51 McNamara is the only player in state history to earn Gatorade's Nevada Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM