The Michigan Wolverines head into the 2024 season with the quarterback position as the biggest question mark on the team. It could be the one thing that determines where the season is headed between a return to the College Football Playoff or going back to being on the outside looking in.
ESPN tiered out the quarterback situations across the country heading into the summer, where the group of passers – Alex Orji, Jayden Denegal, Jack Tuttle – were rated in “TIER 8: Shoes to fill.” Senior Davis Warren was not included in the write-up
“These are five programs which have gotten solid — and in some cases, spectacular — QB play in recent years, who now need to replace veteran starters with younger alternatives,” David Hale wrote. “In most cases, the quarterback stepping into those shoes is still yet to be determined. What’s clear though is that expectations will be high, but success is far from guaranteed., but he is expected to compete for the job, too.
It all starts with the standard set by J.J. McCarthy, who did not “wow” a ton of people with his play last year. Hale summed up his impact perfectly:
It was rare for a casual fan to watch a game and think, “That J.J. McCarthy is the straw that stirs this drink.” For one, that’s a pretty weird thing to think in general. But more specifically, McCarthy’s magic almost never showed up in obvious ways. For example, McCarthy had just eight career games against Power 5 opponents where he threw multiple TDs and no interceptions. Six of them came against Michigan State, Indiana, Nebraska (twice), Rutgers and Maryland. Not exactly a murderer’s row. But the other two? Ohio State and Alabama. In fact, McCarthy made eight career starts against top-10 teams. He posted a Total QBR better than 90 in half of them.
Outside of the quarterback situation, Michigan replaces all but one starter (tight end Colston Loveland), and is not concerned about what the outside narratives.
“Our radar is us,” Orji said at Will Johnson’s camp in Detroit. “We don’t have a radar like the media or outsiders do. Our offense is strong. Coach Campbell is calling plays now and Sherrone is overseeing everything. It’s going to be a great year, I think. I wouldn’t even say it’s going to be a fall-off or a jump-up because I wouldn’t compare us to last year’s offense. I think we have so many new starters and people stepping into new roles.
“We should be able to improve. Last year, we had a great offense, good enough to win 15 games straight. So this year, we have an opportunity to win more games because of the playoffs. We could seize that opportunity. We have the guys to step up and win big.”
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