The Wolverine

December 2021

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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DECEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 25 fighting side by side with the third-year Michigan QB. "I've known Cade since I was a fresh- man, before he even got here," noted Trevor Keegan, a redshirt freshman of- fensive lineman. "He's just poised. He knows his work. He knows everything the defense is going to do. "He stays and watches film until about 9:45, 10 o'clock during the week. He's always prepared, and that's what makes him so poised. It's awesome. We feed off of that. We want to work as hard as him." "I feel like I've earned a lot of respect over the last couple of years, being here," McNamara said. "I respect the hell out of these guys. I love this team. I love the camaraderie that we've built. "I'm just trying to do everything I can to make sure this team can continue winning. No matter what I feel physi- cally, I'm going to try to do that." Had they all played as well as him at Michigan State, the Wolverines would have entered the Ohio State showdown undefeated. McNamara finished 28-of- 44 passing for 383 yards and two touch- downs in that one, including a 93-yard strike to a returning East Lansing na- tive, freshman Andrel Anthony. But the Wolverines lost a 37-33 shoot- out that day, with the Big Ten admitting to Harbaugh its replay official wrongly took a touchdown off the board for the Wolverines. McNamara himself noted afterwards the potential game-winning drive fell short when on-field officials ignored an obvious pass interference call on fourth down in MSU territory. That's as tough as it gets. "A loss like that — not just us losing, but who we lost to — stings," McNamara offered. "We mention we're in a playoff mindset, when you lose, you go home; win you're in the playoffs. "For us to put that much heart into one game, and into every game we play, for us to lose, it's obviously going to hurt. But the team came together on that Monday. We had ourselves a good player meeting. "We all recognized, this sucks, but we're not going to let that one game define our season. If anything, we told each other, this game is going to show us who we are. We responded." DIFFERENT QB, DIFFERENT TEAM They responded in shocking fashion, putting up double-digit victories before manhandling No. 2 Ohio State, 42-27, in a fashion almost no one could have imagined. There's no question Michigan didn't resemble at all the team which plum- meted to a two-victory rock bottom in 2020. The Wolverines claimed it would be different before they ever took the field, then proved it, over and over. McNamara knew of the difference, for certain, on a wild night in Lincoln, Neb. The Cornhuskers fought back in that one, wiped out a two-score Michigan lead at the half and pinned the Wolver- ines against the ropes, delivering their first deficit of the season. U-M pushed back, pulled it out, 32-29, and demonstrated as a team the quality of getting back up. "When we were in as hostile an en- vironment as Nebraska was — us los- ing the lead, gaining it back, losing the lead and then some serious adversity happening late in the game," McNamara began. "I threw an interception, and they scored immediately. That's when our back was against the wall. How we responded was really going to define what kind of team we had. We did. We responded. "That game was a very significant part of this season and of us finding out who we really are." Who they are, he insists, will last be- yond 2021. "There's a new standard in this build- ing that we've set," McNamara said. "That's all we can do. We want to change for the better. This is just the beginning for this program. "As leaders and more guys come into this program, we can continue this tradi- tion and this mindset and this mentality, and continue to grow from it." ❑ Offensive Coordinator Josh Gattis: Cade Means Everything To This Team Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis doesn't hesitate when pondering Cade McNamara's impact on Michigan's turn- around in 2021. "I think the world of Cade," Gattis said. "I absolutely love him as a player and as a person. Cade's a guy that, when we talk about what he means to this program, what he means to this team, he means everything to this team." Gattis felt bad early, during all of "the outside noise" surround- ing Michigan's QB position. But he's witnessed huge growth in U-M's offensive leader, in every way. "He's gone out there each and every week and he's had some very critical moments where he's had to toughen it up," Gattis said. "He hasn't always been healthy, he's been banged up, but he's never made excuses. He's continued to lead the team, and I think that's gaining perspective of everybody, which he already had. He really put the stamp on it even more. … "Everyone focuses on stats. The only stat that matters is the win and loss column for a quarterback. … That's obviously a category that he's done an extremely good job of since he's been here." — John Borton Gattis has high praise for McNamara's leadership and tough- ness. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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