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Michigan football notebook: Jim Harbaugh on QB ‘separator,’ more

Chris Balasby:Chris Balas•07/30/22•

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Michigan quarterbacks Cade McNamara J.J. McCarthy
Michigan Wolverines football quarterbacks Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy are continuing to battle for the starting job. (Photos by Getty Images)

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has a loaded team this year, and it starts at quarterback. Senior quarterback Cade McNamara and sophomore J.J. McCarthy are both likely to play, but who sees the field most will be determined by a few key factors. 

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Harbaugh has seen enough from his two players to know both are more than capable. That means fall camp will be huge for both. 

“The separators will be just who plays better — who plays the best,” Harbaugh said this week. “They’re both really good, and No. 1, how many times can they just go in and lead the team down the field for a touchdown. Put points on the board? What’s the main criteria. Which guy can do that?

“Cade did it over 50 percent of the time in games last year. We haven’t done the Numbers on J.J., but it seemed like a lot, every time he got in, practically, was leading a drive. So, both were really good.”

The next biggest factor, Harbaugh said — not turning the ball over.

“Taking care of the football, and playmaking ability,” he said. “We’ll put the balls out there August 3 [the first day of practice] and then they’ll have at it.”

Michigan DT Mazi Smith kills it at Media Day

Harbaugh sent four players to meet with the press at Media Day, and all acquitted themselves extremely well. Senior defensive tackle Mazi Smith, however, proved to be one of the most approachable — not just with the media, but with other players. 

“Mazi, as you can tell today, I’ll bet he’s the most popular guy around here,” Harbaugh said. “Other players form the other teams want to talk to him, chop it up with him like the young people like to say. And I’m sure a lot of the media people want to talk to him, [too]. 

“He’s hust got a vibe about him. Just his aura around him. I’m the same way. I want to hear what he says … what he thinks about things. He’s really deep, just a real cool guy.”

He’s a great football player, too, Harbaugh added, noting “everybody recognizes that.” He’s in incredible shape and seems ready for a dominant year.

“You can see how strong he is,” he said. 

Overall, Harbaugh said, this team has been a joy to coach in the offseason. They’ve bonded on their tour of the state of Michigan, which ended this weekend, and continue to impress him.

“I worry about things, but with this team, I worry less,” Harbaugh said. “They do right. They’re very respectful. I would even go as far to say that this is the most respectful and most well-mannered team I’ve ever coached.

“I’ll take maybe just a little bit of credit for that. That’s parents and families. But this is a great group to be around every single day. That’s probably the best part of my job. I get to be around this staff and these players every single day.”

Quotable

Harbaugh on his team heading into fall camp: “I would even say we’re in a better place right now than we were a year ago at this time, and possibly where we left off last season.”

Harbaugh on whether he expected Michigan to dominate both lines of scrimmage like they did in last year’s 42-27 win over Ohio State: “I can’t remember if I expected that. I remember that’s what we were shooting for. But I can’t remember expecting that.”

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