One of the biggest questions for the Michigan Wolverines for 2022 was who was going to start at quarterback. With Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy both on the roster, there was question what Jim Harbaugh would do. Would he stick with McNamara who got him to the College Football Playoff or switch to the higher upside JJ McCarthy? After months of questions, Michigan has announced their starting quarterback…kind of.
QB Competition On The Field
Apparently practice wasn’t enough for Harbaugh to make a decision. It was announced that Cade McNamara will start week 1 versus Colorado State while JJ McCarthy will start week 2 versus Hawaii. This is an interesting turn in the quarterback battle at Michigan. Most people thought that a started would be announced and then the other player would be sprinkled in. Harbaugh decided to go unconventional giving each player the chance to show what he can do on the field.
Will This Work?
This is an interesting strategy and one that good teams don’t often do. The saying goes that if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks. While it is great that Michigan has a glut of talent at the quarterback position, it seems risky to not name a starter until week 3. Cohesion is usually a good trait to have in a team and the constant changing of quarterbacks has never proven to be a winning strategy.
Harbaugh Goes Against the Grain
This is not surprising for a Jim Harbaugh coached team. He often thinks outside the box and is not afraid to try something crazy. Everyone else would choose a quarterback for week 1 but Harbaugh wants to see it play out on the field. The hope is that this motivates McNamara and McCarthy to bring their best in week 1 and 2 respectively. The schedule also allows for some experimentation. The potential downsides are there but Harbaugh is hoping the upside is worth it.
If this works, this would be the first time a quarterback competition spilled into the regular season and ended in success. The official Michigan starting quarterback announcement will have to wait until at least week 3.