WATCH: Insight on the Michigan QB battle, basketball transfer portal, more
The Michigan Wolverines are two weeks deep into spring ball as they try to set a foundation for the 2024 season, and the biggest storyline on the roster revolves around who fills the starting quarterback role. Entering Week 3 reports out of Ann Arbor indicate that nobody has quite emerged yet as the frontrunner at the position.
In a special Q&A episode of TheWolverine.com podcast, Anthony Broome and Clayton Sayfie discuss some of the early buzz out of Ann Arbor at quarterback. Watch using the video player above, on our YouTube channel, or wherever you get your shows.
“I don’t think that there’s one benchmark that needs to be cleared because it’s kind of a moving target for one,” Sayfie said. “You want to compare it to a couple of years ago, JJ was hurt during spring practice. Jack Tuttle’s hurt right now. So it’s not like an even playing field in terms of all guys being available in the spring. What benchmark is Jack Tuttle really able to clear right now? He’s trying to get healthy. So that’s one element. The second is you don’t know exactly what the options are going to be in the transfer portal.
“I’m sure they’re doing their homework and are going to, especially come April 15th when the transfer portal opens. But it’s a moving target in that you don’t know who’s going to be available. You don’t know who’s going to have an interest in you. So again, you’re just going to look for the best quarterback that you can have behind center starting games and whether that’s a guy on the roster or a guy in the transfer portal, it remains to be seen because we don’t know what all the options are.
“So I know it’s kind of a boring answer to the question, but I just don’t think that there’s, you know, it’s just something you have to constantly evaluate because it is a moving target. It’s a moving target.”
“Over the last three years, I think there’s a pretty clear expectation set in terms of the criteria that they use in terms of being able to extend plays with your legs, your ability to make every throw in the playbook because I don’t think they’re going to dumb down the playbook for any of these guys. You adapt to your personnel, but that’s, that’s a little bit different. And then the ability to lead scoring drives. I think those are all things that are being charted.
“If there’s an opportunity to be had for someone from outside to enter this quarterback room and win this job, I think you would kind of start to see the word get put out there that that would be the case. I wouldn’t say that the smoke is billowing out of Schembechler Hall hoping for someone to come save the Michigan offense as a quarterback. But through two weeks, It’s just not where maybe needs to be yet I don’t know. It’s going to be fascinating to me. That is by far their biggest storyline heading into the rest of the offseason.”
The show was packed with the spring ball talk, including other players we have heard of as potential breakouts, the starting offensive line and more. We also touched on Michigan hockey’s run to the Frozen Four and men’s basketball’s portal pursuits.
