The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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[ Q U A R T E R B A C K S ] 48 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW and a pair of TDs on the ground as a rookie. McCarthy also features a seriously strong arm and the ability to throw darts on the run. He wound up with 516 yards passing and 5 touchdown tosses as a freshman, with 2 in- terceptions. His completion percentage (57.6, on 34-of-59 throwing) fell significantly short of McNamara's (64.2 percent, 210 for 327), but onlookers cannot help but be intrigued by the upside. "I think he can be very, very good," Karsch assessed. "By all accounts, people close to him have said he loves Michigan. He seems dedicated to making it work here. Michigan fans couldn't ask for anything more. "You've got a quality established starter, and somebody who is good enough to chal- lenge him. It might be one of the healthiest quarterback situations in the country. "Is it sustainable, long term? Who knows? In the here and the now, you've got some- body who is so physically gifted that they've turned this into a race, even though they have very little experience, relatively speaking. "That's a great position to be in. People who know a whole lot more about the po- sition than I do will tell you, his gifts are unique." That's why there's an anything-can- happen quality to the situation, Karsch cau- tioned. "In his career, Jim Harbaugh has got a track record of playing the best man to help the team win," he said. "If he deems it to be J.J., it will be J.J. But it won't be given to him. He'll have to go earn it." The question then becomes, how does Michigan build on the two-QB model it fea- tured on the way to a Big Ten title? That's a question Harbaugh won't be looking to an- swer between now and September, but rather allow observers to watch and see. The speculation remains wide open, and will stay that way between now and fall camp, especially as McCarthy throwing re- ports continue to emerge. He began regularly hurling passes again in late April, and that sets all sorts of anticipatory speculation in motion. "How much better did everybody get in the offseason?" Karsch pondered. "That will dictate a lot. J.J. obviously hasn't had a chance to get better, because he's been hurt. But we have a long way to go before this season starts. "Look, [former offensive coordinator] Josh Gattis really used J.J. strategically. He brought him in, in the Ohio State game, in situations that, all year long, they ran J.J. For that very reason, he admitted later, they set it up to break the tendency against Ohio State and throw the ball to Roman Wilson. That was a tendency breaker they had kept in their back pocket all season long. "In that down, distance and place on the field, they had never thrown the ball, and they threw it." Gattis is gone, but Karsch noted co-offen- sive coordinators Matt Weiss and Sherrone Moore will look to pick up the baton. "It's on them to use these guys in whatever way possible to help them win," Karsch said. BREAK GLASS IN CASE, AND A BIG SURPRISE Michigan returns Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman for a second year in maize and blue. The graduate student saw limited action in 2021, appearing in three games and con- necting on 2 of 4 passes for 9 yards, with one of the misses an interception. B o w m a n d e f i n i t e l y w i l l b e looking to bolster both his status and his stats in the coming campaign. He went 9-of- 19 throwing in the spring game with a pair of touchdowns. Whether a year in Ann Arbor and inside the U-M program makes a change remains to be seen. "It seems like they have one deep, tal- ented quarterback room," Karsch pointed out. "Alan Bowman led three scoring drives in the fourth quarter to beat Baylor when he was [at Texas Tech]. "[Sophomore walk-on] Davis Warren lost his junior year [of high school] to injury and his senior year to COVID. Everybody that ever worked with him said he had a Divi- sion I arm. I'm not sure they could ask for anything more than they've got in the quar- terback room." Warren proved the most talked-about quarterback of the spring game. He went 12-of-23 passing for 175 yards, showing off good decision-making skills, as well as arm strength and maneuverability. A scout team quarterback last year, the Los Angeles native looks like a viable backup op- tion when the real battle begins. YOUNG TALENT LOOKING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY Michigan features a pair of freshmen to watch at quarterback. Jayden Denegal (6-4, 215) comes out of Apple Valley, Calif., with some serious throwing credentials. In 27 varsity games, he threw for more than 4,600 yards and 69 touchdowns in his career. As a senior, he racked up an eye- opening completion percentage of 69.1 while managing 1,345 yards passing with 24 touch- downs in nine games. He'll be seeking both to learn behind the scenes and also see the field at Michigan Stadium and beyond. The same goes for Alex Orji, a 6-2, 226-pound rookie out of Sachse, Texas. The key word for Orji is potential, given his up- side and varied skills. He threw for 2,064 yards and 28 touch- downs as a senior while completing 51.4 percent of his passes. That proved only half the story, with Orji rushing for 1,187 yards and an additional 24 TDs. So, while Michigan looks stacked at the top of the quarterback depth chart, there's always an eye toward the future. The new- est imports provide a different look meeting that eye. "Those are like 401(k)s," Karsch opined. "They're like long-term investments." ❑ After starting all 14 games last season, senior Cade McNamara ranks with some of the program's best in the U-M record book. He tops the leaderboard for highest career completion percentage (65.2) among those with at least 200 attempts, is tied for ninth with 210 completions in a single season and slots 12th with 259 career completions. McNamara was stellar against the blitz last season, posting an 85.5 grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 10th nationally among QBs with at least 50 blitzed dropbacks. He averaged 10.6 yards per attempt (compared to 6.5 when not blitzed) and threw 10 of his 15 TDs when the oppo- nent brought more than four pass-rushers. All six of McNamara's INTs came on un-blitzed downs. Sophomore J.J. McCarthy added a different element to the offense last season, particularly with his legs. He rushed 27 times for 124 yards (including minus-42 yards from sacks) and 2 TDs. He also flashed his big arm and bought time in the pocket when needed, throwing for 516 yards — the most by a U-M freshman quarterback since Tate Forcier racked up 2,050 yards and 5 TDs in 2009. [ F Y I ]