Pete Thamel adds locker room intel as compelling backstory to Jim Harbaugh QB decision

Michigan coach head coach Jim Harbaugh made an interesting decision regarding his quarterback competition between Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy, as he’ll have McNamara start week one versus Colorado State, McCarthy start week two versus Hawaii, and then name a starter for week three moving forward. College football analyst Pete Thamel discussed his concerns with Rece Davis on the College Gameday Podcast regarding the Wolverines quarterback situation.

“I really feel like in this Michigan case, as we talked a little bit about earlier in the week Rece, I really feel like it’s appeasement driven and the fascinating dynamic to me is how’s the locker room reacting to this? Because my impression is that Cade McNamara is a guy that had the locker room, and he should because he ran the table last year and good for him,” Thamel said.

McNamara was the Michigan starter last season in every single one of their games, and it’s hard to argue that he could’ve done much more for the Wolerines, as he lead them to a Big 10 championship win, a win over rival Ohio State, and their first College Football Playoff appearance. McCarthy did appear in ten games for the Wolverines and made a big impact as a dual threat, change up for Michigan’s offensive attack in his freshman season.

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But Thamel’s point about the locker room dynamic is important, as the Wolverines are attempting to make another run at the conference and national championship this season. The Wolverine’s lost some talented leaders from last year’s roster, with McNamara being one of the few remaining on this year’s team. That combined with an unprecedented, in-season quarterback competition is definitely worth keeping an eye out on during the first few weeks of the season for the Wolverines.

All that being said, Thamel also pointed out that Michigan’s strength of schedule is relatively soft this season, which may give them room for Harbaugh’s peculiar quarterback battle.

“So that’s where you made the great chemistry analogy earlier in the week Rece and I really think that’s going to be fascinating how that all bubbles up over the next couple weeks. The good thing is Michigan’s schedule is sponsored by Charmin, so it’ll be really hard to mess it up until they go to Iowa,” Thamel said.

All eyes will definitely be on Harbaugh and the Wolverines in their first two weeks of the season, and hopefully for Michigan, they can come out of this quarterback battle with a clear-cut QB1 and a locker room that’s fully behind whoever wins the starting job.