Michigan quarterback Joe Milton announced on Thursday that he will enter the transfer portal and leave the program. Milton was Michigan’s first QB to start the 2020 season, but after a disappointing season in which Milton fought, he is moving on.
– Milton’s departure leaves Michigan with three scholarships on the list:
- Second year redshirt Cade McNamara
- Dan Villari freshman redshirt
- The real freshman JJ McCarthy
McNamara is the only one of the three with university experience. McNamara’s experience came last season, where he played in four games. Most notably, McNamara entered the game against Rutgers after Milton struggled. When McNamara came into play, Michigan was 17-0. McNamara would take Michigan back and beat the Scarlet Knights in 48-42 overtime. In the year, McNamara was 43 from 71 to 425 yards and 5 TDs. McNamara showed leadership during his time on the field. He showed potential. McNamara seemed to have the ability to align the attack in the proper alignments with good progress. His pre-snap recognition was commendable. Although he doesn’t have the strongest arm, he has touch and precision in his game. Conventional wisdom suggests that McNamara should be Michigan’s next year. But throw the standard out the window when there’s a first-year five-star QB on campus.
There are high hopes that the five-star freshman JJ McCarthy will be the best QB of the Harbaugh era so far. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound QB was 36-2 as a starter at the school and won the National Championship with the IMG Academy. McCarthy played for 16 TDs as a veteran and did not throw an interception. McCarthy’s presence as a Michigan recruit helped the team reach a plethora of potential customers. McCarthy has demonstrated leadership skills in the past two years, meeting his future teammates. The combination of leadership, double threat skills and a high ceiling could lead McCarthy to become the starter this season. McCarthy appears to be a goalkeeper, and we see real QB freshmen succeed across the country annually, but it is far from a guarantee that a freshman will be ready to go to Week 1 of his first season as a college player. Still, that will be McCarthy’s goal. He wants to play. He wants his number to be called right at the gate.
When it comes to former three-star Villari, QB coach James Brady is on the rise. “I think it will be an incredible fit. He has a prototype size of 6’4 ”215, the ability to make quick decisions, consistent footwork, and has some experience in professional style schemes / concepts, as well as propagation,” Brady told us in 2019. “With everyone said this, its potential and ceiling are beyond the limit. ”Although Villari is not seen as a favorite to begin with, it would be unfair to exclude him completely.
The QB room got smaller and the image was clearer by proxy. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is now the coach of the team’s defenders and, with Milton gone, we know who Harbaugh will train in the position. In addition, with Milton out of the picture, each QB will have more practice repetitions. Although Milton’s departure is neither a good nor a bad development, it opens the way for McCarthy to get all possible representatives to acclimate to the Michigan scheme. This allows Villari to receive an increase in repetitions. And that makes McNamara a vanguard to begin with. However, we are a long way from any QB being named the initiator.
Michigan quarterbacks will be as good as their supporting squad. If the offensive line does not improve, if the receivers do not fine-tune their craft, if the running backs do not consistently make productive runs, no QB will be very successful. If the Michigan QB is successful, it means that the crime as a whole was successful.
Much is said about each Michigan quarterback competition, and this year will be no different. The additions to the Michigan team and the young presence there created optimism within the program and the fan base. With spring training starting next week, the wheels will be moving, the competition will begin and the QBs will have to make the most of their reps and their time in the theater with Harbaugh. Harbaugh recruited all the QBs currently on the Michigan list, he already knows them well, but now he knows them even more personally. Which defender will make the biggest impression on Harbaugh? We will be finding out in the coming months.