JD PicKell: Evaluating what Cade McNamara, JJ McCarthy bring to Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines quarterback dilemma may be a more challenging choice for head coach Jim Harbaugh than anticipated. Michigan is torn on starting either Cade McNamara or JJ McCarthy at quarterback this season. So, the Wolverines head man has elected to wait until after the team’s first two games of the season before making a decision on who will be their starting quarterback for the rest of the season. For those of you who are not aware of the biggest strengths each quarterback has, On3’s JD PicKell breaks it all down in a recent episode of The Hard Count.
“…To look at both these quarterbacks as a whole, from their skillset, Cade McNamara is the proven leader. Not that JJ McCarthy isn’t a leader, but Cade McNamara was named a captain,” said PicKell. “A guy they’re going to look to steer the ship, set the tempo, and it’s obviously important the quarterback position to have that leadership. Cade McNamara is a guy who got them over the hump; won the Big Ten Championship, and got them in the College Football Playoff.”
McNamara served as the official Michigan starting quarterback in 2021, throwing for 2,576 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. McCarthy, a top 100 recruit who ranked as the No. 9 quarterback in the 2021 class according to On3 Consensus, appeared in 11 games as his backup. He finished the year 34-of-59 passing for 516 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in addition to 124 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
“I think, for him, it’s similar to what we talked about with A&M with Max Johnson and Haynes King; Cade McNamara is that high floor guy. At the end of the day, you know he’s not going to crash the car… a season ago, it wasn’t like he was the driving force behind a lot of their big-time wins. A lot of that was credited to the defense. Cade McNamara knows his role, managing the game, the offense, and making the throws he needs to make. I think you get with Cade McNamara.”
With McNamara, the Wolverines know exactly what they are getting; a strong steady hand and leader to run the offense. He won’t wow you on the field, but he won’t possibly cost you the game with a bonehead decision or two. On the other hand, the wow factor with McCarthy is off the charts. And some can’t shake the ‘what if’ ‘it’ factor he possibly possesses.
“Now the temptation for Michigan is to look at JJ McCarthy and say well dude has an arm. Dude offers a whole new element to this offense that we haven’t really seen at Michigan in a minute. If you put Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy out there in a pro day, JJ McCarthy probably dominates. Probably a bigger arm, probably looks the best in agilities, he offers a whole new element with his legs, and running the football; which we may see even if Cade McNamara is the guy. But JJ McCarthy offers a lot of excitement and a lot of well, what if what if we had him there.”
Harbaugh feels he needs a little bit more time to deliberate on this decision. But the Wolverines’ headman must not drag his feet on which direction to take his team. The rest of the Big Ten conference is waiting and ready to challenge Michigan for their championship crown. And if the Wolverines don’t have a resolution to their quarterback conundrum, that could leave them in a vulnerable position and at the mercy of the rest of the conference.