Jim Harbaugh and Michigan will revisit their quarterback situation after the first two games of the season. For now, Cade McNamara is QB-1 and J.J. McCarthy is QB-1A.
“I don’t call it peculiar,” Harbaugh said Tuesday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. “It’s a great thing the way J.J. has played and the way Cade McNamara has played. They’ve both elevated their games and they’re both playing at a really high level. I don’t want to withhold any good thing, good person, good player that can help this 2022 football team.”
Harbaugh announced last week that McNamara, who led the 2021 team to the Big Ten championship, will start the season opener against Colorado State, and McCarthy, the former five-star recruit with NFL potential, will start the following week against Hawaii. Both quarterbacks shined in camp and Harbaugh decided the battle for the starting job was too close to call.
“I can see reasonable people thinking this would be the better choice or the other quarterback would be the better choice, but the matter is that they’re both really good,” Harbaugh said. “We’re confident, and we think this, that either quarterback has the capability of leading us to a championship.”
Michigan begins the season with three soft non-conference opponents, concluding with UConn on Sept. 17. It has time to sort out its quarterback situation before beginning Big Ten play against Maryland Sept. 24.
“And if we’re in the same place three weeks from now, we’re going to have to figure out how to deploy both,” Harbaugh said. “Both are extremely talented, and that’s definitely a possibility. I’m just a man, and no man knows the future.”
For Michigan, the risk is lower with McNamara. He threw 14 touchdowns to just three interceptions in the regular season last year as the Wolverines leaned on a dominant rushing attack. But the reward feels higher with McCarthy. He has a stronger arm and more playmaking ability with his legs. Harbaugh praised his athleticism Tuesday, saying “that is J.J.’s game.”
“That is JJ’s forte and he’s been incredible at it. There’s been times when J.J. has gone on 40-yard runs in practice and nobody lays a hand on him, not even a finger,” Harbaugh said. “But his accuracy from the pocket, ability to make all the throws, like Cade, going through the progressions, knowing that you don’t have to turn water into wine every single play, getting the ball to the playmaker, something that Cade is really good at, J.J. has improved a lot at that.
“People ask, what metric are you going to use (to make a final decision)? It’s not going to be just one because J.J. has to play his game and Cade has to play his game. They can’t try to play the other’s game.”
Asked about the possibility of playing both throughout the season, Harbaugh said, “If hypothetically that happens and they’re both 100 percent heathy and neither one has broken a chinstrap, yeah, we’d have to figure out as coaches how to best utilize their talents and their skills. That would best benefit Michigan.”
