Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 12 days until 2022 season

There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 3 opener against Colorado State. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.

With 12 days until Michigan kicks off the 2022 season, we take a look at senior quarterback Cade McNamara.

McNamara is the incumbent for Michigan’s starting quarterback job, but he’ll have to continue to fend off sophomore J.J. McCarthy for the right to lead the Wolverines’ offense on a full-time basis this fall.

McNamara started all 14 games in 2021, leading Michigan to the Big Ten title and College Football Playoff. He complated 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions. 

He established himself as a team leader then, and has only improved that status this offseason. He feels that he’s the top voice on the offense.

“Anything I do is going to be for the sake of the team winning,” McNamara said at Big Ten Media Days. “That’s what’s most important on my mind, and what comes with that is having good relationships with my teammates.

“For me, I take a lot of pride in what I bring to the team from a leadership standpoint. Allowing negativity or anything like that, I don’t think that’s healthy for the team or really for myself, either.

“Any quarterback’s job should be focused on to make sure the team wins. I think that whole group is confident that, that’s our mindset. If it’s not, then we’ll change it.”

As a quarterback, McNamara says he’s much improved. He got to work immediately following Michigan’s Dec. 31 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl, even going out west to work with his quarterback trainer, Jordan Palmer, during spring break.

“Right now, whether it’s footwork, whether it’s the offense, I’m very comfortable in this offense,” he said. “Building chemistry even more with some of the guys that are on the field, rebuilding my chemistry with Ronnie, maybe some guys that I haven’t gotten as many reps with, especially this time right now, that’s the time to do it. We’re really close right now, and I’m excited to see all that work come into fruition and us get after it in camp.”

The Michigan quarterback said he’s improved most on a couple details in particular.

“My footwork has improved a lot,” McNamara explained. “I feel like I have a better base right now. I feel really confident in my throwing right now. As the season went on, as more balls were being thrown, you settle into midseason form. 

“This offseason, especially, my accuracy has been as clean as it’s ever been in my career — and I’m very confident in my ability.”

There wasn’t one specific way in which McNamara improved, instead several different factors having made a difference.

“It’s a combination of studying my motion and then working with the coaches, working with my quarterback coach, Jordan Palmer, as to where my inefficiencies are,” the Michigan signal-caller said. 

“Part of my motion could be, where I step could cause me to pull on my front side, which is why the ball goes right. It’s not just because, ‘I missed the ball right; let’s go grab the football and throw it again.’ It’s more of, why did I miss there, what caused it? And whether that’s biometrically, whether that’s physically or even mentally, finding those things. 

“Obviously, you can’t change everything in one day or one offseason, but I’ve been able to find things that have helped me improve, and I’m just going to continue to work on those things.”

Michigan football countdown to kickoff

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