Michigan has a quarterback battle of biblical proportions on its hands to start the 2022 season.
At least, that's the way Jim Harbaugh is painting it. The eighth-year Wolverines coach — who's fresh off a season in which his team ended a long losing streak to Ohio State and made the College Football Playoff for the first time — isn't going to let last year's success determine who his signal-caller will be this year.
Will he go with incumbent starter Cade McNamara, who led the team to a Big Ten championship and Playoff berth, or sophomore J.J. McCarthy? He has come up with an interesting solution.
He'll start McNamara in Week 1 vs. Colorado State and then McCarthy in Week 2 vs. Hawaii. That two-week battle should, in theory, be enough for Harbaugh to select a full-time starter, although the battle could very well extend to Week 3 when the Wolverines take on UConn.
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The Sporting News looks at Michigan's quarterback battle and why Harbaugh has taken an unusual approach to deciding its victor.
Why is Michigan starting two quarterbacks?
Harbaugh claimed Monday his decision to start McNamara in Week 1 vs. Colorado State and McCarthy in Week 2 vs. Hawaii was "biblical."
"Did it factor in that one would transfer? No," Harbaugh told reporters. "My thoughts are that they are both the kind of guys that don’t flinch, fold or quit at the slightest whiff of adverse circumstances or something that doesn’t go their way.
"It's a process. It is a process. No person — that's biblical — no person knows what the future holds. It’s a process that's going to be based on performance. Both have been tremendous quarterbacks. We think that both are capable of leading our team to a championship.
"Some people have asked, 'How'd you come to that decision? Was it based on some kind of NFL model?' No. It's really biblical. (King) Solomon was known to be a pretty wise person."
While that may be true, Solomon knew not to split the baby in two. But the Wolverines' early-season stretch against the Rams and Warriors — teams that combined for a 9-16 record in 2021 — allows the team flexibility in choosing its starter for the rest of the season.
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Cade McNamara vs. J.J. McCarthy
Cade McNamara stats
McNamara was Michigan's primary signal-caller in 2021. He led the team against Ohio State, Iowa in the Big Ten championship and Georgia in the College Football Playoff.
He also set career highs in games played, completions, attempts, percentage, yards, yards per attempt and adjusted yards per attempt, touchdowns and passer rating. Normally, such a year-over-year improvement would be enough for someone to hold onto the starting position.
But McNamara was largely ineffective in Michigan's last three games of the season. He completed 30 of 62 passes (48.3 percent) for 434 yards and one touchdown to four interceptions against the Buckeyes, Hawkeyes and Bulldogs.
His statistics the past two seasons:
| Comp-Att | Pct | Yds | TDs | INTs | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 43-71 | 60.6 | 425 | 5 | 0 | 134.1 |
| 2021 | 210-327 | 64.2 | 2,576 | 15 | 6 | 141.9 |
J.J. McCarthy stats
McCarthy played in 11 games (no starts) as a freshman in 2021 as the primary QB2. He represents the highest-rated quarterback recruit under Harbaugh at Michigan, lending credence to the idea he could start ahead of schedule, even with McNamara still enrolled.
McCarthy was the No. 25 overall player in the 2021 class and the No. 5 quarterback.
His freshman season included a 7-of-17 passing game vs. Georgia in which he threw for 131 yards and a touchdown.
| Comp-Att | Pct | Yds | TDs | INTs | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34-59 | 57.6 | 516 | 5 | 2 | 152.3 |
