Michigan football: Backup QB pecking order, J.J. McCarthy's usage in the run game

No. 2 Michigan Wolverines football has won all six of its games in blowout fashion, by 24 or more points. Winning big has allowed the coaching staff to build depth and get many players game experience.

That’s played out at quarterback. Junior starter J.J. McCarthy has attempted just 4 fourth-quarter passes this season. Nearly 20 percent of the offensive snaps have been led by another quarterback, with a total of five different Michigan signal-callers having seen game action. Position coach Kirk Campbell called it “extremely vital” that the Wolverines have been able to cycle through different players behind center.

“You never know when a helmet may pop off or a shoelace may break, so these guys that have in-game experience — [graduate] Jack Tuttle, [sophomore] Jayden Denegal, [junior] Davis Warren has gotten in the game — for them to have that experience is vital for us going forward, because you never know when that situation may arise. And they all performed really well, so we’re excited about that.”

RELATED
• Kirk Campbell talks J.J. McCarthy biggest strength, ‘best thing that happened’ to the Michigan QB this season
• Josaiah Stewart is heating up as one of Michigan’s top pass rushers

Tuttle has been Michigan’s first guy off the bench over the last two games, wins over Nebraska and Minnesota, after a backup quarterback rotation carried on into the early portion of the season. As of now, Tuttle is the primary backup. Denegal and Warren, in that order, have followed him.

“We’re always evaluating our depth chart and our players on our team,” Campbell said. “Going in the Minnesota game, the first guy to go in was Jack Tuttle. If he performs best this week, he’ll continue to hold that. But that’s a constant evaluation. That’s a living, breathing document, as far as the depth chart, and we’re trying to push everybody to be the best. 

“Listen, it is my goal to get the best out of everybody on that roster in the quarterback room. If [sophomore] Alex Orji comes to me and tells me he wants to be the backup quarterback, I’m gonna do everything I can to possibly push him to be the backup quarterback. That will constantly be evaluated weekly.”

J.J. McCarthy using his legs more and more

McCarthy has been running more ever since the Big Ten season started, and he said holding him back in non-conference play was an intentional decision by the coaching staff. He ran twice for 30 yards, including a touchdown, against Nebraska, and had 2 touchdown rushes versus Minnesota. In the Big Ten opener, he had 7 carries for 51 yards.

McCarthy has been both scrambling on pass plays and using his legs to pick up first downs and reach the end zone on designed runs, including read options.

“We understand internally how great of a runner J.J. is, but we also want to make sure that we’re smart with it,” the Michigan assistant said. “We’re going to use him as a runner when need be, but we’re not going to run him into the ground, either. But those ad lib plays, scrambling, are a natural part of football. That’s part of something [Michigan head] Coach [Jim] Harbaugh hit on that he thinks he’s really, really good at — extending plays, using his legs. There’s a point in time, you’ve all probably witnessed, we’ve harped on making sure he protects himself a little bit and gets out of bounds, so that’s part of it, as well.

“But I think both [scrambling and designed runs] are important. We’ve got to use his legs to help the run game with [senior] Blake [Corum], [junior] Dono[van Edwards] and [senior] Kalel [Mullings] and whoever else is in there, but also using him as a runner in the throw game, so whenever the play breaks down, that’s hard for a defense. If you want to play a certain coverage, he can hurt you with his arm or his legs, and that’s an extra weapon for us.”

McCarthy lowered his shoulder on one of his touchdown runs at Minnesota. He’s said in the past he likes contact, pointing to his background as a hockey player.

“That’s going to happen. He’s a competitor, and we don’t want to take that out of him,” Campbell said. “There are so many redeeming qualities of J.J., and being a competitor and wanting to fight for every yard is one of them. But when you’re at the goal line, that’s a great opportunity to go score a touchdown. If you’re in the open field at the 38-yard line and you already have a first down, is that a smart time to take a hit? No.

“So, just coaching him through those opportunities and being smart with him, and then making sure that even when he does it we don’t extend the ball over the line on first down and stuff like that. Just continuing to coach him, because he’s naturally going to make those plays and be aggressive, because that’s part of who he is — and we never want to take that away from him.’