Quarterback battle named Michigan's biggest spring question mark
One of the most consequential decisions for the 2024 Michigan Wolverines will be who ultimately starts at quarterback and whether or not that guy is currently on the roster. All options are on the table for head coach Sherrone Moore and his program, which leads to an incredibly intriguing spring camp on the horizon.
Heading into spring practices, which start on March 18 for the Wolverines, ESPN named its pending quarterback situation – which currently has five in-house candidates in Jack Tuttle, Alex Orji, Jayden Denegal, Davis Warren and Jadyn Davis – as its biggest spring storyline.
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“With Jim Harbaugh’s mission of bringing a natty back to Ann Arbor now accomplished (and with Harbaugh now the coach of the Los Angeles Chargers), the Wolverines will go through a bit of a reset under new head coach Sherrone Moore,” Blake Baumgartner says. “That starts and ends with who will replace J.J. McCarthy at quarterback. Jack Tuttle being approved for a seventh year of eligibility changes the dynamic for Moore. In addition to Tuttle, Jadyn Davis (No. 166 in the 2024 ESPN 300), the cycle’s fourth-best dual-threat quarterback, comes into the program as part of a 16th-ranked class and joins Jayden Denegal and Alex Orji on the roster. The beginning of the Moore era will be defined by who gets the keys to the offense.”
Moore and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell will be at the forefront of determining who the quarterback is. The thought of a post-J.J. McCarthy world might be frightening to some, but Campbell seems confident that Michigan might have its answer in-house already.
“Every single one in that room has taken a step way in the positive direction,” Campbell told The Wolverine at CFP National Championship media day. “I can go way down the line. I’ll just start going down the list. Jack Tuttle, is a veteran guy who came from this spread offense and coming into more of an under-center, play-action, pro-style offense. So just learning a lot there. Alex Orji, his fundamentals, footwork and timing has been insane in his development.
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“Jayden Denegal might be the most improved player on the entire roster. Great accuracy and a huge future for him. Then you throw in Davis Warren, he went through some injuries this year, but his footwork. Cleaning up some of that stuff and he’s playing on time and playing as confident and fast as you can.
“So summarizing that all, it would be the confidence of the group. Understanding pre-snap what we’re going to probably get post-snap and be able to execute once that ball is snapped.”
McCarthy was 27-1 as a starter at Michigan, throwing for 2,991 yards with 22 touchdowns and 4 interceptions this season for the Maize and Blue, completing 240-of-332 (72.3%) of his passes. Tuttle was his primary backup throughout the 2023 season and was recently cleared for a seventh season of collegiate eligibility.
