How Jadyn Davis stacks up with Michigan football's Jim Harbaugh-era QB recruits

Michigan landed its highest-ranked quarterback recruit of the Jim Harbaugh era with the commitment of 2024 four-star Jadyn Davis on Friday afternoon. Davis, the No. 26 overall player in the cycle, is the fourth-ranked quarterback in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

The On3 Industry Ranking is a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Michigan landed the services of Davis on March 31 after a long and winding recruitment. He is now the face of the 2024 recruiting class for the Wolverines and there should continue to be ripple effects from the decision.

While it is much too early to project how his career might look, the bones of a succession plan for J.J. McCarthy are now in place. Davis just barely edges out McCarthy for Michigan’s highest-rated QB under Harbaugh. McCarthy was the 47th-ranked prospect and a four-star recruit in the 2021 cycle.

Here is a look at how Davis stacks up to the rest of the Harbaugh-era QBs.

2022 – Alex Orji, Jayden Denegal

Alex Orji was a four-star prospect and the No. 391 prospect in the 2022 cycle, listed as an athlete. Michigan has given him a shot to compete and develop at quarterback, but could be a candidate for a position switch at some point.

Jayden Denegal was rated three stars and ranked as the No. 494 player in the class. The On3 Industry Ranking put him as the No. 27-ranked passer in the cycle. Both players redshirted last year and are expected to compete for depth chart positioning in 2023.

2021 – J.J. McCarthy

The aforementioned McCarthy was the No. 9 quarterback in the 2021 cycle behind Quinn Ewers, Caleb Williams, Sam Huard, Brock Vandagriff, Kyle McCord, Ty Thompson, Jaxson Dart and Drake Maye.

Outside of Williams and Maye, who could potentially be the top two quarterbacks drafted in 2024, McCarthy has been everything Michigan could have asked for and more. He was a key piece of the Big Ten title and College Football Playoff team in 2021 before taking the starting job in 2022 and accomplishing the same feats with the Wolverines. He threw for 2,719 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions in 14 games (13 starts) in 2022.

2020 – Dan Villari

The program initially took quarterback JD Johnson in this class, but he was forced to medically retire from football before arriving on campus. Dan Villari was a late take in the 2020 cycle as a three-star recruit and the No. 1207 overall player. He appeared in four games in his Michigan career as a reserve and transferred to Syracuse following the 2021 season.

2019 – Cade McNamara

There may have been more talented players at the position, but wins matter. Cade McNamara, who ranked No. 278 overall and a four-star prospect, helped Michigan break through its previously-established ceiling and led the program to its first Big Ten Championship since 2004 during a 12-2 2021 campaign.

The passage of time will be kind to what McNamara helped do for the program. If he does not replace Joe Milton during a triple-overtime win at Rutgers in 2020, Michigan falls to 1-4 with a very uncertain future ahead of it. McNamara proved he could run the offense and earned the respect of his teammates, showing off a poise and grit that had been missing from his predecessors.

2018 – Joe Milton

A four-star recruit and the No. 242 prospect in the class, Milton could throw a pigskin a quarter mile, but where it landed was anyone’s guess. Still, “Cam Newton 2.0” had all the raw talent in the world and had Michigan fans buzzing after a 49-24 win at Minnesota to kick off the COVID season. From there, he struggled to complete 50% of his passes and was benched in the Rutgers game that gave way to the McNamara era. He transferred to Tennessee in 2021 and after being benched in favor of Hendon Hooker has a chance to re-win the job in 2023 after a big Orange Bowl performance.

2017 – Dylan McCaffrey

Michigan thought it had tapped into the talented family tree for its quarterback of the future, but injuries and a transfer out held back Dylan McCaffrey from realizing his potential in Ann Arbor. McCaffrey was a four-star prospect and the No. 127 player in the country, but only ever was a reserve during his time with the program. He appeared in 17 career games before opting out during the 2020 season and transferring to Northern Colorado.

2016 – Brandon Peters

Brandon Peters, a four-star prospect and the No. 58 player in the nation, was Harbaugh’s first true quarterback commitment and he even brazenly compared his traits to that of Andrew Luck. That set a high bar and expectation among the fanbase. Unfortunately, that hype never materialized into much at Michigan.

After not seeing game action in 2016, Peters started 4 games during the 2017 season, throwing for 672 yards with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions while completing 52.8% of his throws. That was about it for the Peters era. He threw two passes during the 2018 season, but transferred and spent the 2019-21 seasons at Illinois.

2015 – Alex Malzone, Zach Gentry

Alex Malzone committed to Michigan when Brady Hoke was still the head coach, ranking No. 370th overall as a four-star recruit. He played in two games during his Wolverine career before transferring to Miami (OH) after the 2017 season.

Zach Gentry was Harbaugh’s first recruited quarterback and ranked No. 192 overall in the country as a four-star prospect. However, he redshirted in 2015 and made a position switch to tight end. Gentry appeared in 33 games with 24 starts and was an All-Big Ten honoree (third team, coaches; honorable mention, media) in 2017-18.