Jim Harbaugh previews Michigan fall camp QB battle between Cade McNamara, J.J. McCarthy: 'It'll be competitive'
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football’s quarterback competition was put on hold this spring, with sophomore J.J. McCarthy rehabbing his shoulder. He was limited during the team’s 15 practices but is nearing 100 percent. While head coach Jim Harbaugh didn’t want to speak for McCarthy when talking with reporters at the Ferris State Sound Mind Sound Body satellite camp Thursday, he did say he’s still expecting the signal-caller to compete for the starting job during fall camp.
“Every time I ask him, that’s what he’s saying,” Harbaugh said. “He’s feeling good about it. The beautiful thing about J.J. McCarthy is that he’s like a kid in a candy store. That’s his mentality, that’s his attitude, and that hasn’t changed one bit. If that’s an indication, I would say that he’s probably right on schedule.”
Michigan senior Cade McNamara led the Wolverines to the 2021 Big Ten title and a berth to the College Football Playoff. He remained on top of the depth chart in the spring, but he’ll be challenged much more at the tail end of the summer.
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McNamara threw for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions last season, completing 64 percent of his passes. McCarthy still played, though, and added more mobility as a runner when he was in the game. He rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and threw for 516 yards and five scores with two interceptions.
The two will go head to head in Michigan’s fall camp, but Harbaugh believes it’ll be a healthy competition based on a meritocracy.
“It’ll be competitive,” Harbaugh said. “The dynamic, I would say, would be competitive. I’ll tell you the exact same thing that I tell Cade or J.J. or any other player on our team at any position that’s competing for a position.
“Who’s gonna play? The best player. How are we going to figure out who the best player is? They’re going to play the best.
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“Here’s the cool thing with J.J. and Cade — it’s competitive, but it’s not combative. Two guys that play the same position and are on the same team. Everything that I’ve noticed is that they’ve got each other’s backs, and they’ve got the team’s back.”
The possibility of a platoon still exists, whether that’s McNamara or McCarthy taking the bulk of the snaps behind center for Michigan.
“Yeah, I mean those are the options — one guy full time or a combination of two guys playing,” Harbaugh said in response to a question on whether both guys will see time. “As evidenced by last year, we’ve done that. That’s possible, so the possibilities will be the same for this year.
“There could be one starter, there could be one starter, one backup. There could be two guys that contribute and play as well. We’ll see. No crystal ball on what will take place, but excited to roll the balls out there and let the guys compete.”
