Davis Warren is no longer Michigan's well-kept quarterback secret
Nobody will mistake Michigan redshirt freshman walk-on quarterback Davis Warren for college football’s next phenom passer. That said, several have been put on notice in the wake of his spring game performance.
Warren finished the day 12-of-23 passing for 175 yards in his first padded football game in over three years. Performances during scrimmage-like settings can always be taken with a grain of salt. However, Warren had a live arm on display and looked like be belonged at this level.
“He’s been doing that since he got here last year,” junior running back Blake Corum said. “He was on the scout team last year a lot, and he was just slinging it. I don’t know how else to say it. So I’m not really shocked. That’s what he does.”
Senior offensive tackle Ryan Hayes added: “It’s nothing new. In practice last year, he was doing the same thing, so we know that Davis can ball out when he has to.”
Warren’s story is one that fans should start getting used to. He was a talented high school prospect out of Los Angeles, California who missed his junior season while battling leukemia. Warren beat the illness, then had his senior season wiped out by COVID-19 restrictions in the state.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh took a shot on him as a preferred walk-on and was a three-time Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week in 2021, helping prep for Western Michigan, Rutgers and Nebraska and playing the roles of Kaleb Eleby, Noah Vedral and Adrian Martinez, respectively.
Warren’s impact in Michigan’s quarterback room
Warren has been taking the majority of reps at the backup quarterback spot, along with Alan Bowman, in the spring with J.J. McCarthy rehabbing a shoulder injury. Cade McNamara was the team’s only healthy starting-caliber signal-caller on Saturday, which led to him playing four series at quarterback split between the Maize and Blue teams.
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McNamara was impressed with Warren, who has been staying in his hip pocket since arriving at Michigan.
“Leading up to this game, I mean, if there’s one dude who was in the film room with me every single time it was Davis,” McNamara said. “He was with me every week during game week last season. I had a prior relationship to him before he came to Michigan. But I think he’s very smart and I think him being able to play — as you mentioned, it has been three years.
“I think he played really well today. I’m proud of him. That’s my guy. And I look forward to what he can do.”
Running with an opportunity
This was not the first time the Michigan contingent had heard about Warren’s play during the spring. The extra repetition and opportunity was something that was needed to get his football-playing career back on track.
“He’s a talented guy that really hadn’t played football for two years when he got here,” co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss said during spring practices. “We eased him back into it in training camp, taught him the offense, and then really just cut him loose on the scout team and he took the majority of reps as the scout team quarterback last year — which was exactly what he needed because he needed to get back into 11-on-11 football. Guys whizzing around the pocket, Aidan Hutchinson trying to knock the ball off of him. That really was the best thing that could happen to him all year, doing that. Kinda got back into football because he’s really talented.
“We’re fortunate to have him here.”
