Jim Harbaugh taking a risk by delaying picking starting QB

By RJ Young
FOX Sports College Football Writer

Let’s discuss Michigan’s quarterback scenario.

In a assertion launched on Saturday, a week earlier than the No. 8-ranked Michigan Wolverines play Colorado State of their season-opener, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh mentioned Cade McNamara will begin Week 1 in opposition to the Rams and J.J. McCarthy will begin Week 2 in opposition to Hawaii.

Harbaugh additionally mentioned he’ll then determine who begins Week 3 — in opposition to conventional juggernaut Connecticut — however made no point out of whether or not that participant would stay the starter for the foreseeable future.

Harbaugh clearly would not consider there may be any separation between the 2 gamers at an important and singular place in soccer.

There’s additionally the slight matter of the switch portal, which might beckon McCarthy if McNamara comes out because the clear No. 1 on the depth chart in 2022.

In what is probably going McNamara’s remaining season of faculty soccer, Harbaugh’s choice to present every participant a begin within the first two weeks in opposition to competitors the Wolverines ought to beat is fascinating. In impact, he is extending the deadline to determine between a participant he really loves (McNamara), and his presumed future starter (McCarthy).

And that’s the rub.

Breaking down Michigan’s choice to begin two QBs

RJ Young believes that J.J. McCarthy is extra gifted than Cade McNamara and wonders why coach Jim Harbaugh appears reluctant to call him the starter.

I despatched a textual content to a supply near this system asking him to assist me make sense of this. And he unequivocally advised me, “It’s a win-win-win” for Michigan.

For him, each QBs must concentrate on not making the errors that lead people to look to the sideline.

In McNamara’s case, he can’t simply examine down a lot of the sport. He should present he can drop dimes downfield.

For McCarthy, he should present he can defend the ball and nonetheless make these explosive performs by means of the air and along with his legs within the first evening sport of the season.

That contest in opposition to the Rainbow Warriors will even be McCarthy’s first probability to point out what he’s product of as a starter.

Will it work? Recent historical past exhibits that it might.

In 2014, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz performed two QBs. He favored Jake Rudock — who took a lot of the snaps — however C.J. Beathard was the extra gifted participant.

After Rudock took a lot of the snaps that season, Beathard’s father advised The Tennessean he hoped his child didn’t should switch if he didn’t begin in opposition to Tennessee within the TaxSlayer Bowl.

“He’s actually hoping he would not should switch,” C.J.’s father Casey Beathard said. “I mentioned [to him], ‘Hopefully it’s going to be apparent on this sport, come what may.'”

Turns out, it was Rudock who left Iowa City and ended up at Michigan as a grad switch, and the transfer labored for Iowa. With the QB place settled, Iowa improved from 7-6 in 2014 to 12-2 in 2015 with Beathard below middle.

But the two-QB system might need performed extra to carry 2014 Iowa again than assist them succeed primarily based on how the Hawkeyes performed with Beathard because the unquestioned starter in 2015.

Among others, Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier have made two–QB programs work.

But even on Ohio State’s final nationwide title crew, which featured maybe probably the most profitable two-QB system within the CFP period (Cardale Jones and JT Barrett), Barrett mentioned they didn’t take pleasure in it.

“We would swap each sequence,” he told Eleven Warriors. “As a quarterback, it is type of tough to do, being that you would be able to’t get a actual vibe off the protection and the way they’re making an attempt to play us. They’re not taking part in a quarterback as a person, they’re taking part in the offense.

“With that, it was onerous at instances, or tougher at instances, so I do not suppose it could be one of the best thought.”

In Ohio State’s case, Meyer had two QBs with comparable talent units. In Michigan, it’s a a lot simpler evaluation.

McNamara was adequate to upset Ohio State, win the B1G title and make the CFP.

Now he might be who Kelly Bryant was to Clemson in 2018 — the man who would cede the starting spot to a man named Trevor Lawrence.

However, within the case of Meyer at Ohio State and Dabo Swinney at Clemson, they’d confirmed they will win the nationwide title and deserve the good thing about the doubt.

In McCarthy, Michigan might need the means to push a step farther — if not this 12 months then the subsequent.

His means to show a scramble drill into a constructive end result, and to flip the ball 50 yards downfield into a shoebox, are two causes he is a extra gifted participant than McNamara. You don’t should take my phrase for it.

McCarthy is rated five-star, based on the 247 Sports Composite, and ranked because the No. 25 participant within the 2021 class. McNamara ranked 268th within the 2019 class.

On the opposite hand, McNamara has Harbaugh’s confidence, his blessing.

When I asked about McNamara at Big Ten Media Days, Harbaugh left little question about what he sees in him — a little of himself.

“I usually take into consideration that — like a younger Jimmy Harbaugh,” he mentioned. “I can simply see it.”

He referenced McNamara’s means to steer the crew to wins by unearthing a stat that confirmed what number of drives McNamara led that resulted in factors.

“Cade’s is off the charts,” he mentioned. “It’s over 50 p.c. Now, J.J., I haven’t discovered what his is, nevertheless it appears like each time he leads a drive [the team] finally ends up in the long run zone as nicely.”

There’s no probability of McCarthy profitable the crew’s confidence in the event that they know he’s not the man, or in the event that they suppose he’ll get the hook after a unhealthy drive, a turnover, or a stalled offensive outing.

Harbaugh says he believes the Wolverines can win video games with both a kind of guys at QB. He had higher hope so.

McCarthy and McNamara would profit from figuring out their crew and their coach has their again till they show they will’t play the place at a excessive degree. Name a starter, after which let that man develop into the subsequent nice Michigan quarterback.

It wasn’t that way back that Harbaugh completed 2-4 and took a pay reduce. He flipped this system into Big Ten champs, however then brazenly flirted with NFL alternatives when he ought to have been centered on securing signings of letters of intent. 

Now it appears he may squander much more goodwill whereas testing the endurance of his locker room and the Wolverines fan base. He’ll have much less time for a crew to rally across the man as he continues to separate reps into the season, and that may do extra hurt than good.

RJ Young is a nationwide school soccer author and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young, and subscribe to “The RJ Young Show” on YouTube. He isn’t on a StepMill.