Jim Harbaugh addresses how he plans to deal with Michigan quarterback competition

At Big Ten Media Day, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked about one of the biggest question marks for the Wolverines this upcoming season. Who will start at quarterback between  Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy?

“Well last year, made it work. Both had phenomenal seasons, JJ in his true freshman year, Cade in his junior year, both played outstanding, winning football every time they went out there. A really cool stat on Cade McNamara is over 50% of his drives ended in points, and I don’t know exactly what the number is for JJ, but seems like every time he got in there and led a drive, it ended in points as well,” Harbaugh said.

McNamara started every game last year for the Wolverines, leading them to a Big Ten championship, a College Football Playoff game, and a win over rival Ohio State. But, in his true freshman season, McCarthy saw action in all but two games last season for the Wolverines, proving himself as a more than capable dual-threat, throwing for 516 yards and 5 touchdowns and rushing for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

“Both are really good, you know they ask at other positions, who’s going to play? I mean, the best player’s going to play, we’re going to know who the best player is by who plays the best,” Harbaugh said. “Cade McNamara is going to be really tough to beat out for the starting quarterback job, JJ McCarthy’s going to be really tough to beat out for the starting quarterback job.”

Last year’s recipe of a heavy dose of McNamara with the occasional change-up of McCarthy definitely worked for the Wolverines’ offensive attack. But with McCarthy continuing to develop and Michigan’s expectations continuing to rise, it will be interesting to see how this season unfolds for the two quarterbacks.