ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh hasn’t yet come across as annoyed by questions regarding the quarterback situation with returning starter Cade McNamara competing with J.J. McCarthy, the freshman backup last season, but he did rely on one of his old standbys while responding to a question at his weekly news conference.
Harbaugh was reminded Monday of comments he made during preseason camp that one quarterback could emerge as the starter with the other the backup, or there could be a combination of both playing this season. McNamara started Saturday’s rout of Colorado State, but McCarthy got significant playing time in the second half. McCarthy is set to start the night game against Hawaii this Saturday, a plan Harbaugh had laid out a week before the start of the season.
“We plowed this ground about as thoroughly as it can possibly be plowed, dating back to the summer,” Harbaugh said, borrowing a comment he has used many times during his eight seasons at Michigan
In other words, you can keep asking, but as far as he’s concerned, there’s not much more else he’s going to share.
The reality is, this competition really started to pick up steam last November. McNamara is the steady, not-so-flashy quarterback voted a captain by his teammates before this season after he helped lead the team to a 12-2 record and a Big Ten championship last fall. McCarthy is the shiny five-star recruit with a big arm and strong running ability that set him apart and suggest a stronger upside.
Harbaugh started to lay the groundwork last November when asked about the quarterbacks.
“Everybody rents that position,” Harbaugh said at the time. “Nobody owns the position, any position on the field. Even the head coach. It’s a lease, at best.”
McNamara started the 51-7 win over Colorado State, but it was McCarthy’s play that opened eyes. He scored on a 20-yard designed run play and was 4-of-4 passing. McNamara is expected to play Saturday night, although McCarthy gets the start against 50-point-underdog Hawaii.
“I thought Cade had a really solid game,” Harbaugh said Monday. “He walks away mad at himself for missing C.J. Johnson on the on the crossing route and threw the ball to C.J. a little wide on the opposite boundary. Other than that, made some terrific throws, a heck of a two-minute drive. That’s just the way he is. He's a perfectionist. So I thought it was a really solid game.”
McNamara had a slow start and finished 9 of 18 for 136 yards and a touchdown, a 61-yarder by Roman Wilson off a screen pass. Of McCarthy’s performance, Harbaugh said after the game he was “electric."
The quarterbacks were in a tight competition coming out of camp, hence, Harbaugh’s decision to carry it into the season against the Wolverines’ mediocre opponents the first couple of weeks. It’s not an enormous sample size, but he wanted to see them both start and get into the rhythm of a game.
McNamara, terse in his comments after the opener about what he called the “unusual” nature of the split starts, said Harbaugh had mentioned he didn’t want to switch out quarterbacks this season.
“I think however it shakes out, that’s just how it’s going to be," McNamara said last Saturday.
Harbaugh said Monday everything is on the table.
“I think I said the same thing to you guys; I'd prefer to have a starting quarterback going into each ballgame. I’ve been very transparent with that,” Harbaugh said. “And also said, yeah, if things are exactly the same as they were coming out of camp, which was pretty close to dead even, then we were going to have to, as coaches, find a way to maximize both of their talents for the best use of the team. That remains a very viable option.”
