The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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30 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2026 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY JOHN BORTON Tommy Carr proved he can deliver, even when his coach gets whisked away to the delivery room. Last Sept. 20, Carr's head coach at Saline High School, Kyle Short, found himself calling an altogether different sort of timeout. His wife experienced labor pains prior to an impending birth in a nearby hospital, Short needed to audible from his normal routine. He summoned his star quarterback on the day of the Homecoming show- down with Dexter, informing Carr he wouldn't be on hand that night. "I called Tommy out of fih hour, which is about 2 p.m.," Short recalled. "I said, 'Tommy, I'm not going to be able to coach today. I've got to go to the hospital. My wife is in labor.' He looks at me like, What? I said, 'You're prepared. You're fine. You know the game plan.' "He was the only person I'd told dur- ing the school day. I said, 'I'm going to tell our offensive coaches that you're running the show. Yes, we're going to have plays called, but if you see things on the field, you have the full ability to check out of a play, signal something to a receiver.'" Those instructions demonstrated the level of trust the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr achieved at Saline. While he might have momen- tarily looked concerned about Short's absence, he didn't play like it. "That game, he was able to have a career day," Short noted. "He threw for over 500 yards, 8 total touchdowns. But the coolest thing — watching from afar — was he did just that. He was check- ing out of plays, taking the free-access throws. He was giving his receivers the opportunity to make plays. He was just special that night. It was one of those deals where I make jokes and say, 'Shoot, he's better as a quarterback without me coaching him.' It was just him being able to take what the coaches had prepped for months, take it into a game, take the keys to the car. He made it look flawless." Carr set a school record with those 8 touchdown passes, which tied for second all time in the Michigan High School Athletic Association, in leading Hard-Driving Tommy Carr Could Accelerate In The Big House In two seasons as the starter at Saline (Mich.) High, Carr threw for 5,247 yards and 64 touch- downs with 9 interceptions, while running for 589 yards and 14 more TDs. PHOTO BY ETHAN MCDOWELL