The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2021 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 55 BY JOHN BORTON N ew Michigan quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss tossed out a rela- tive stunner at the end of spring football practice. Defying a State Street tradition of keeping quarterback news quieter than D-Day plans, Weiss let the world know his leading candidate. Cade McNamara, come on down. "He's a guy that's been awesome to work with," Weiss said on Michigan's 'In The Trenches' podcast. "He's extremely valuable to our team. He's our starter. Love the fact we have him." That's not all the QBs coach offered. En- tering into the realm of forestalling criticism/ making bold predictions, Weiss ventured a projection on the redshirt freshman's future beyond Michigan. "Cade is a guy who for everything people are going to say to criticize him, he's a guy that's going to end up playing 10 years in the NFL, because you can say he's not enough of this, not enough of that," Weiss noted. "But at the end of the day, he's really smart, makes great deci- sions and processes things very fast, and his accuracy and arm strength are more than enough to win with." C l e a r l y, We i s s hadn't completed his LLSS (Loose Lips Sink Ships) training manual in- side Schembechler Hall before drop- ping some significant information/opinion. And that's okay — especially for a young quarterback looking to establish himself as Michigan's new leader behind center. The comments, McNamara conceded, caught him off guard — at least in their widespread dissemination. "I really appreciated that comment by Coach Weiss," McNamara assured, regard- ing the anticipated NFL decade. "That's ac- tually the exact same thing he told me in my exit meeting, coming out of spring. "I was very surprised he would say that to the press. At the same time, I really appreci- ated it. Obviously, I'll take a serious compli- ment from a guy who has been in the league before coming here." Plenty of coaches won't dole out such high praise, fearing the target of it might take his foot off the accelerator through the sum- mer. That's the last thing on McNamara's mind. When you've fought your way up two depth chart spots in 12 months, kicking back isn't a consideration. "It doesn't really change anything, in the way I'm going to do things as far as work- ing out, my mentality towards the game," McNamara said. "I'll remain hungry. But my coach giving me a very big compliment like that — I'll take it, absolutely! "No matter what position I am on the depth chart, it's not going to change the way I attack my work and the way I approach myself getting better as a player. If anything, I need to work more and work harder, now that I'm a starter. "Now on game day, I'm definitely going to be part of this team and us winning. No matter where I am on the depth chart, that's not going to change." Prepped And Ready McNamara also understands spring assur- ances don't carry much weight in the fall. Injuries, a lack of attention to detail, strong play by others — plenty of challenges could deflect his planned takeover. Again, it changes nothing. McNamara well recalls the spring of 2020, when most were debating whether Dylan McCaffrey or Joe Milton would guide the Wolverines from behind center. Neither remains in the program. McNa- mara, with all of one collegiate start, holds the pole position. What a difference a year makes. "Last year, I was number three on the depth chart," McNamara underscored. "I was really the underdog, for sure, as to winning the quarterback job. The main names being mentioned were Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton. "I hadn't really established myself as a leader on the team, because I had to establish myself as a player first. Really putting my head down and working, doing everything I could do to put myself in position to be able to play on Saturdays was at the forefront of my mind. "That was the individual goal. For a team goal, it was helping the team win, no matter what position I was on the depth chart." Gary McNamara, Cade's father, has done enough coaching himself to avoid the "Little League father" syndrome. He cites the fam- ily saying — "We trust Cade" — in expect- ing his son's determination, hard work and competitiveness to carry him through. When Gary McNamara examines his son's journey to the top of the depth chart, it's more clinical than emotional. His biggest worries came along with Cade's year of rela- tive idleness in 2019. He'd proven one of the most prolific quar- terbacks in prep football history, shatter- ing all the QB records at Damonte Ranch High School in Reno, Nev. Cade established a Nevada record for career passing yards (12,084) and touchdowns (146). He was a starter since he was a fresh- man, and in his junior and senior seasons combined, he threw for 6,465 yards and 83 touchdowns. The two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Nevada went from that level of involvement to mimicking the op- posing quarterbacks as a demonstration teams player for the Wolverines as a true freshman. That adjustment isn't ever easy, at any position. For a quarterback, it can be devastating. " H i s f r e s h m a n year is the most con- cerned I ever was about Cade," Gary Mc- Namara acknowledged. "Cade's unique. I used to coach college basketball, and Cade's unique when it comes to leadership, IQ, things of that nature. I just knew he was go- ing to struggle his freshman year, not being able to play. "He did a good job with it. He had a little injury during the season, running scout team quarterback. That was almost a blessing, because then he couldn't play." Seeing all the other ways his son reacted told him everything he needed to know, the elder McNamara assured. "He never treated Michigan football as if he wasn't the starter," Gary McNamara pointed out. "He didn't travel his freshman year. He was watching film on Thursdays and Fridays for a game on Saturday that he wasn't even traveling to. "When he told me that, and I knew he was still treating the process as if he was the starter, I knew he was fine. I know it was tough on him, but I know he's extremely tough." McNamara enters the 2021 campaign as U-M's likely starting signal-caller, based on comments by new quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss this spring. PHOTO COURTESY U-M ATHLETICS READY FOR PRIME TIME Quarterback Cade McNamara Believed All Along He'd Emerge