Jack Tuttle talks bid for Michigan's starting QB job ahead of fall camp

ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines will wage a season-defining quarterback battle in fall camp with the starting job up for grabs with graduate Jack Tuttle one of the contenders for the job. Heading into his seventh season of college football, he has an open road in front of him to potentially quarterback the defending College Football Playoff National Champions.

Whether his waiver for an additional season was approved or not, Tuttle wanted to be part of the Michigan football program in 2024. It went through in January, and after missing portions of spring ball due to injury he is ready for a crack at the starting job.

“It was extremely exciting to me,” Tuttle, last season No. 2 quarterback, told The Wolverine at the Champions Circle Golf Classic in Ann Arbor. “Being a grandpa on the team isn’t a bad thing. I’m enjoying it. It was kind of a crazy process there in January. But it’s exciting and going into this year when I missed spring, it was tough.

“We were talking about it [earlier], but I got to take on a new perspective and help the guys out in different ways. Everyone was getting a ton of reps and leading the team doing a great job. So kind of got through spring and worked my tail off in the ways I could. Did well this summer and am excited for this fall.”

Tuttle, a former four-star recruit who started his career at Utah before transferring to Indiana and Michigan, has spent a decent portion of his career playing behind future NFL first-round picks in Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy.

The traits that those guys exhibited to make themselves successful are things Tuttle sees glimpses of in Michigan’s current room.

“We have a fantastic quarterback room,” Tuttle said. “I think people underrate us a little bit, but who cares? I think we’ll show it through our work this year. There’s the it factor that [Penix] had and J.J. had and continued confidence through any type of adversity.

“They didn’t really care what happened in the game whether it was a touchdown or a pick, it was pretty even keel throughout the whole thing. They’re both tough dudes and great leaders. It’s hard to explain the it factor. You either got it or you don’t and you’re pushing the ball down the field and you don’t care about anything the pressure going on around you.”

Tuttle and the Wolverines have a bit of an edge to them heading into the season given the offseason talk that has surrounded the likes of Oregon and Ohio State, as well as other teams in the country. Michigan believes it has what it needs to compete for a title this year, and Tuttle is thankful for the naysayers.

“The way I think about it is thank you to those who believe, thank you to those who don’t,” Tuttle said. “We don’t really care if people want to talk crap about us. It just fuels us. That’s how we look at it. We did the same thing last year.

“Everyone counted us out against, I think it was Penn State. We were sitting in the hotel and Coach Harbaugh wasn’t going to be able to coach. We ran the ball 30-something times straight. And that just defines our team. Maybe that gives us a little personality for this year.

“It’s the same attitude. We don’t care and we’re going to do everything we can to win.”

Tuttle is expected to compete for the starting job with junior Alex Orji and senior Davis Warren and while the battle will be headed, it is an incredibly supportive room.

“Alex talks about whoever’s out there is representing all of us,” Tuttle said. “That’s not said everywhere. I mean, that’s something special. Approaching camp, I think it’s really just focusing on yourself. Everyone keeps talking about this competition and who’s going to be this and that. But when you enter a competition, a lot of guys get too focused on the external and you just have to focus on your own stuff.

“Throwing completions, taking care of the ball, leading the team the best you can. That’s how you attack it. That’s how I attacked it last year. I’m just going to dive into the film and keep improving and go out there and rip it. I think that competition breeds greatness and we all accept that and it’s going to bring the best out of us.”