Five years later, has Jim Harbaugh finally found his quarterback?
Maybe.
Redshirt freshman Cade McNamara was terrific -- "outstanding," said Harbaugh -- in Michigan's comeback win against Rutgers, and that's just it. One game, against Rutgers. Let's see how he closes out the season against Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State. Let's see if he retains the job in 2021.
But in a season that was getting uglier by the game, McNamara has given Michigan some hope. It's safe to say he'll be the starter moving forward.
Given the way he's played thus far, it's a surprise he wasn't the starter when the season began. The coaching staff opted for Joe Milton instead.
"Personally, I think I did all I could. Whether that was enough at the time is out of my control," McNamara told the Stoney & Jansen Show. "But the coaches made their decision and Joe still played really well against Minnesota. It’s not like it was some huge gap or anything. I feel like he had a really good camp, practiced well and showed some good leadership traits at the beginning of the year for us.
"Again, it was coach’s decision. It’s my job as a team member to be as prepared as I possibly can."
McNamara looked plenty prepared when he replaced Milton in Michigan's blowout loss to Wisconsin, leading the Wolverines on their only touchdown drive of the game. And he looked even better in the same scenario against Rutgers. McNamara entered the game in the second quarter and went 27-36 for 260 yards and four touchdowns. He also added a touchdown on the ground.
"I have a checklist and a schedule for every day of the week starting Sunday as far as what I have to do in terms of pressures, first- and second-down coverages, third-down coverage, situational scenarios as far as what the defense can give me," McNamara said. "It's a week-long process and I consolidate all that on Friday morning.
"That way, I’m ready by the time Saturday comes. It allows me to play relaxed and confidently with my eyes."
This isn't out of nowhere. While the hype back in training camp centered on Milton, McNamara arrived on campus in 2019 with plenty of hype himself. One of the top pro-style quarterbacks in his class, he had offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame and USC.
He said Harbaugh lured him to Michigan.
"My first day here, Coach Harbaugh was the very first person I got to see. He was standing at the end of the hallway and he just yelled, 'CAAADE!' from the end of the hallway. And that was the first time I didn’t have to schedule a meeting with the head coach on my visit," McNamara said. "We went right into his office and 10 minutes later we were already watching my highlight reel in front of the entire staff. He even brought in Shea (Patterson) to come watch the highlight reel with me."
McNamara was part of a loaded recruiting class that ranked No. 8 in the country and No. 1 in the Big Ten, according to 247 Sports. It was Michigan's first top-ranked class in its conference since 2007. McNamara said the group has 'big goals' moving forward.
"I really feel like Michigan is the greatest combination of academics and athletics. And I think this class in particular, the 2019 class, we’re hungry. Now that I’ve become a part of this team, this team has big goals," he said. "We want to be different."
OK, the hair. We have to talk about the hair. We have to talk about those blonde highlights that make McNamara look less like a Division 1 quarterback and more like the lead singer of a boy band in the '90s.
Yeah, he admitted, he got plenty of crap from his teammates when he showed up on campus with his new look. It was something he and his brothers decided to do out of boredom during quarantine, back home in Reno, Nev. He liked the way it looked over the summer. So when the Big Ten originally postponed its season, McNamara decided to go back for round two.
"Turned out we ended up rescheduling the season," he laughed. "I remember Coach Harbaugh wasn’t the biggest fan of it, but some people are saying that I can’t cut it now."
Harbaugh's assessment?
"He just looked at me, kind of smiled and shook his head and laughed a little bit and goes, ‘Ya know what, your hair’s good the way God gave it to you, Cade.'"