Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh: No change in demeanor of Cade McNamara, who's still preparing 'like the starter'
Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh named sophomore J.J. McCarthy the team’s starting quarterback for the time being, after two stellar performances that included completing 15 of 16 passes with three touchdowns. Senior Cade McNamara previously held that title, leading the Maize and Blue to the 2021 Big Ten title and an appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Now that he’s made a decision going forward, he shared some insight into what he’s told both quarterbacks while appearing on the Rich Eisen Show.
“The thing I would say to Cade, would say to J.J. is the same, and it comes from my mother. It comes from Jackie Harbaugh,” Harbaugh began. “There are a lot of people that give the mental game and advice, but since I’ve been six years old, whether I was playing little league, high school, college or been a professional football player, then into coaching, my mom sends me about the same text before every single game since I’ve been six years old. It’s a simple text; it has in it, ‘one play at a time, one game at a time,’ or, ‘one day at a time, one game at a time, one play at a time.’
“It’s the absolute best advice there is that I’ve gotten personally, and that’s the one I share with both Cade and J.J.”
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McNamara is a captain, and while he’s disappointed he’s not Michigan’s full-time quarterback any longer, Harbaugh has been pleased with how he’s carried himself.
“Us coaches, we embrace the fact that we have two really good quarterbacks. We feel, two championship level quarterbacks,” Harbaugh said. “Cade, obviously, you saw that last season, all season. The players and coaches, we embrace that we have two really good quarterbacks — and that’s a real edge for our football team, and we embrace it.
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“We were back on the practice field yesterday, and there’s no difference in Cade’s demeanor. He’s an incredible leader and quarterback, and he’s preparing like I want him to prepare and the whole team wants him to prepare: like he’s the starter. And, it’s football. He’s going to play again, and we’re very confident that he will play his level of football, play his game.
“The team is confident in J.J., and we want both of them to have at it and keep developing, keep improving. As I said, that’s a big edge for our team. I don’t know if any other team in the country has that kind of edge like we do.”
Michigan may need McNamara, who completed 210 of his 327 pass attempts for 1,576 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions in 2021, at some point this season. As the backup, he’s only one play away. And with the type of competitor he is, it’s likely he’ll continue to scratch and claw for playing time and the starting job.
“We’ve named J.J. the starter. And from there, we do exactly what we said — one play at a time, one game at a time,” Harbaugh said. “That’s the best approach.”
