The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 19 granted. Although we wear the block M and we're Michigan, we've got to work extremely hard every day and we've got to prepare hard every day." They're finishing the preparation now, doing everything possible to get ready for a much different 2021. Much of what Michigan fans heard in the spring about the offense has crystal- lized and been confirmed in fall camp. At this writing, there's no big coup at quarterback, and not a shocker to be found when it comes to how the Wol- verines might line up. Head coach Jim Harbaugh seemed more forthcoming in his discussions of personnel from spring to fall, and new quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss even named a starter coming out of spring. That starter hasn't changed. In fact, there's a stability some will find comforting, even following a major coaching staff turnover last winter. Here's how it looks, with fall camp winding down. QUARTERBACK It's still redshirt freshman Cade McNamara, just like Weiss announced months ago. The third-year Wol- verine checked all the off- season boxes: skills prog- ress, initiative, leadership. Several observers praised his all-in approach, and his ability to rally those around him to put in the work as well. That's left Michigan in a strong situ- ation under center, according to Har- baugh. "Of all the years, the quarterback play at the beginning has been really sharp, really good," Harbaugh con- firmed. "Both Cade and [true fresh- man] J.J. [McCarthy] have really started fast, there's been no lull coming out of the gates. Cade's ahead and he's got so many of those competitive traits, the ability to make all the throws, but also the ability to get the ball in other peoples' hands, make others better. "Probably the No. 1 job of a quarterback when it comes down to it, is to be that point guard. So he's on it, he's on every detail. He's on every facet of the leader- ship, et cetera. And that's why I've said I don't see him taking a knee or taking a breath." McNamara completed 60.6 percent of his passes (43 of 71) in the four games he played before get- ting injured a year ago. He threw five touchdown passes, four of them in ral- lying Michigan from 17 points down to a 48-42, triple-overtime win at Rutgers. Although an injury in his first start a week later cut short his already shortened season, McNamara built on what he'd done. He rehabbed his right shoulder, played well enough in spring practice to get Weiss' stamp of approval and delivered a strong sum- mer of workouts. That doesn't mean he's gone unchallenged. McCarthy looked like a freshman at times in spring ball — which he should — according to observers. He's since come on very strong, giving the Wolverines a solid No. 2 option to Mc- Namara. "J.J.'s got the same traits, he really does," Harbaugh said. "He's off to a fast start and playing really well and improving as well. Improving on those abilities of, you don't have to win the whole game yourself, every single down. "You need a guy that can distrib- ute the ball to the big playmakers we have in the backfield and at the wide receiver position. He's taken to that and his growth has been exponential in that way. So it's good." OFFENSIVE LINE Those protecting McNamara repre- sent familiar names, with one likely breakthrough starter among them. Harbaugh made it clear Michigan's rock-solid starters include redshirt sophomore left tackle Ryan Hayes, second-year freshman right guard Zak Zinter and redshirt junior right tackle Andrew Stueber. "Hayes, Stueber, Zinter are exactly where we left spring ball," Harbaugh assured. "Those guys are starting." It appears fifth-year senior Andrew Vastardis will get the call at center to open the season, with redshirt fresh- man Trevor Keegan likely to start at left guard. A shift could occur if new offensive line coach Sherrone Moore opted to move Zinter to center, which would open another position. Harbaugh noted the Wolverines fea- ture substantial depth and flexibility along the front line. "Left guard is really being contested by [redshirt junior and last year 's starter] Chuck Filiaga," Harbaugh said. "He's playing his best football, really playing with his hands inside. Doing a heckuva good job. "And then Zinter being able to play center and Stueber could play right guard. Trente Jones has really devel- oped into a fine, fine football player. There's a lot of options there." Harbaugh has consistently men- tioned freshman center Greg Crippen of late, along with redshirt freshman guard Nolan Rumler. "They're playing really good foot- ball," Harbaugh said. "And the guy that's had three really good practices all in a row is [redshirt freshman] Karsen Barnhart. It's hard to keep him out of the starting lineup. "So, we're good. We've got some good depth on that offensive line. Sherrone's doing a heckuva job." WIDE RECEIVERS A position of considerable ques- tion marks going into the spring ap- pears to have developed into a pos- sible strength of the team, according to some onlookers. Front and center in the move forward has been sophomore Cornelius Johnson, the 6-3, 211-pound wideout who has risen to the top or near the top of the crew. Michigan's leading receiver the past two years — junior Ronnie Bell — will certainly be heavily in the mix, and redshirt junior transfer Daylen Bald- win shows plenty of promise. They all could be key components in a corps that goes at least six deep, according to the head coach. U-M offensive coordinator Josh Gattis "We all gained a valuable lesson [from last year's 2-4 season]. There were a lot of things to be learned from last year. It's driven us in a unique direction in leadership, as we've talked about with our players, and it's also made us realize we can't take anything for granted. Although we wear the block M and we're Michigan, we've got to work extremely hard every day and we've got to prepare hard every day."