Anytime you lose one of the greatest quarterbacks in the program’s history there is reason for concern. That’s what’s currently happening after the Wolverines lost junior gun-slinger, J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy was 27-1 as the starting quarterback at Michigan and he left after his junior season where he ended up as the No. 10 overall pick to the Minnesota Vikings.
Now that McCarthy is gone, it appears the sky is falling if you get on social media and look to see what some fans are saying. Never mind that the Wolverines return one of the best defenses in football, return Donovan Edwards, and receiving threats like Colston Loveland, Tyler Morris, and Semaj Morgan. After all, college football is a throwing league now like the NFL. Teams can’t run the ball for wins, you can’t dial up 32-straight runs to beat a team these days.
It’s true that the Wolverines’ options at quarterback aren’t the most appetizing if you look at stats.
Alex Orji is a skilled runner but has just one career passing attempt.
Davis Warren has been a spring-game beast but hasn’t fared well during games. He’s just 5-for-14 for 89 yards and an INT.
Jack Tuttle has experience, but he couldn’t maintain the starting job at Indiana. While he looked good in brief action last year at Michigan, there is a concern if he could start the entire season.
Jayden Denegal is 4-for-5 for 50 yards and a TD in his two years at Michigan, but he had a poor Spring Game performance.
And Jadyn Davis is just a true freshman, but highly skilled.
However, the problem with what Michigan fans are calling for ‘Go get a transfer portal QB’ isn’t that easy. The issue is: there aren’t many left. If you wanted a top-flight QB, that needed to happen right away and it didn’t.
So here are your options.
Here are the top four uncommitted quarterbacks in the portal, via 247Sports:
Dematrius Davis (Alabama State)
- Info: 5-foot-11, Auburn commit (recruiting class of 2021), transferred to Alabama State and played in 2022-23, dual-threat
- Transfer ranking: three-star, No. 81 QB
- 2023 Stats: five games (suffered a meniscus injury), 42-for-61, 413 yards, three TDs, and three INTs; five carries for 44 yards
Gunnar Gundy (Oklahoma State)
- Info: 6-foot-1, son of Mike Gundy, recruiting class of 2020
- Transfer ranking: three-star, No. 95 QB
- Stats: Played in nine career games for Oklahoma State. 40-for-73 for 449 yards, four TDs, and four INTs.
Gunnar Smith (UCF)
- Info: 6-foot-4, recruiting class of 2022 (USF commit), transferred to UCF in 2023
- Transfer ranking: three-star, No. 112 QB
- Stats: Hasn’t played in any games in his two seasons
Grant Tisdale (TCU)
- Info: 6-foot, recruiting class of 2019 (Ole Miss commit), Junior College in 2021-22, transferred to TCU in 2023
- Transfer ranking: not ranked
- 2023 stats: One career pass attempt in D-1 football
Do any of these players shift the needle? Doubtful. Do you want to bring in one of these four, or any other behind them, and add more competition that really isn’t needed and potentially lose one of the current options?
I understand your worry, Michigan fans. It’s not easy to lose a guy like McCarthy — he’s a generational talent. But if the Michigan coaching staff is sold on one of these guys being the next starting quarterback in Ann Arbor, I think you should give it a chance. Alex Orji probably has the edge in the race, but if he isn’t the man for the job, then look for either Warren or Tuttle to get a chance.
The sky isn’t falling, fans. Be patient and realize Michigan still has the roster to get the job done in 2024.
