The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 29 really good at the University of Michi- gan, whenever his time comes, so we're just going to continue to develop them. "And he'll be playing for us at some point — it's just a question of when." When appears the overriding question for some. McNamara continues prepar- ing like he did when he wasn't even be- ing mentioned for the starting job — as if he were the starter. It's an attitude that rocketed him from far down in the depth chart to leading the Wolverines. He expects it to be an attitude with ap- plication to keep him leading the charge. "No matter what position you're in, if you become complacent, you become vulnerable," McNamara said. "This whole situation has really helped me in that sense. I have zero complacency as to what my situation is and where I am on the depth charts. "If anything, I'm getting better faster than me just sitting in the quarterback room, comfortably." Tom Brady might not have gotten Michigan past a loaded Georgia squad — armed with five NFL Draft first-round- ers on defense — in the playoff game. Still, McNamara sees in that defeat the seeds of even great prowess, individu- ally and as a team. "We missed plenty of opportunities in that game," McNamara reflected. "I'm not going to say we didn't belong in that game, because we did. That was an extremely good defense, as we saw in the NFL Draft. Half the team went in the first and second rounds. "Us getting that perspective of, this is the talent we're going to see, this is what it's going to take if we want to win a na- tional championship, that perspective was huge for this team. It's humbling, and now we know what it looks like." As far as competing just for the con- tinued opportunity to compete at that level, the senior QB doesn't flinch. "That's something that's not really foreign to me, at this point," he stressed. "Anything I do is going to be for the sake of the team winning. That's what's most important in my mind. What comes with that is having good relationships with my teammates. "I take a lot of pride in what I bring to the team from a leadership standpoint. Allowing negativity or anything like that, I don't think it's healthy for the team, or really for myself, either." Beating Ohio State proved plenty healthy, except for those denizens of Hades' Haven in Columbus. Experienc- ing that victory, and its aftermath, sim- ply gives McNamara and his teammates an appetite for more. He knows invading The Shoe means a bigger competitive bite. He's anxious to sink his teeth in. "It was extremely meaningful," McNa- mara said of Michigan's 42-27 triumph over the Buckeyes. "As we're going around Michigan right now, we're able to see the impact that it left, not just with our team but with the fan base and the state itself. "A lot of the guys are starting to real- ize the platform that we have, especially when Michigan football is winning, and what that means for the state and the people in it. We're learning an apprecia- tion for that, and we just want to continue to do that, for our fans and our state. "We can't lay off the gas pedal at all. We've got to push it down to the floor, because we're going to have an even bigger target on our back this season." McNamara continues jamming the pedal down. He's worked on everything, from his mechanics to synchronization with Michigan's talented raft of receiv- ers, including knee injury-recovered veteran Ronnie Bell. "My footwork has changed a lot," Mc- Namara noted. "I feel like I have a better base right now. I feel really confident in my throwing. As the season goes on, as more balls are being thrown, you kind of settle into midseason form. "This offseason especially, my accu- racy has been as clean as it's ever been in my career. I'm very confident in my ability right now." He's confident enough to call it his team, and to regard the 2021 campaign as a building block, not some over-the- moon aberration. "It should be a foundation," McNa- mara emphasized. "Everyone in our pro- gram is very confident in the culture that we have developed. It should be here to stay. For this season, at least, it is. "The guys are confident, not just in our ability but in what we have created at Michigan, from a culture standpoint, from a mentality standpoint. It has been such a big difference over the last cou- ple of years. It will continue to grow. "I'm here and the other guys are here to make sure we stay on track." ❏ Harbaugh Declares: No Starter Declaration Anyone hoping for an early announcement on Michigan's quarterback situation found themselves as disappointed as snow-encrusted Buckeye fans in The Big House last fall. Head coach Jim Harbaugh took to the podium inside Schembechler Hall Aug. 17, and he almost immediately found himself asked about his signal-callers. The response made certain to underscore the fact that nothing has been settled. In other words, senior Cade McNamara and sophomore J.J. McCarthy remain locked in a battle for No. 1. "They both just continue to elevate their game, really on a daily basis, in every little way," Harbaugh said. "It's pretty tight. They're both playing at high starter caliber." As for differentiating between his two top quarterbacks, Harbaugh added: "We're all out there. We're all seeing the same thing. When it's obvious to coaches, it will be obvious to players as well. "Talk to [Big Ten Network's] Dave Revsine. Talk to Howard Griffith. Get their opinion. They've watched it … check me. They're both playing good, at a high level — starter caliber. … "We're going to let them keep competing. It's possible there's a [named] starter by the first game. It's possible that it goes into the season, and you pick the one that can help the team win." — John Borton McNamara "I feel like it's my team. Nothing against anyone. I just feel like I've put myself in a position where if I say something, it will be listened to. I'm confident in myself. I just want to win. I think I proved I can help the team do that last season."