3 best options for Michigan football starting quarterback

Michigan football is going to have a new starting quarterback in the 2024 season following the departure of J.J. McCarthy to the NFL draft. McCarthy is trending as a top-three pick, and replacing him won’t be easy.

Truthfully, Michigan football shouldn’t even try. The Wolverines aren’t going to find another J.J. for next season. The man is the greatest college quarterback U-M has ever had. That being said, the Wolverines have some options and there are more ways than one to skin a cat (win games).

Having a first-round quarterback is great. Hopefully, Jadyn Davis will develop into a similar player, but it’s not going to happen overnight. Heck, we saw with Cade McNamara in 2021 that you can win with a solid, but not spectacular dude under center.

Spring ball starts in a few weeks and that’s when the QB competition starts in earnest. But here are some thoughts on the three best options for Michigan football and its void at quarterback.

The young guns

In an ideal world, Michigan football wouldn’t have to add anyone from the transfer portal. The best-case scenario is someone on the roster grabbing the bull by the horns. Alex Orji and Jayden Denegal are the best candidates in my opinion. One insider even quoted a source close to the Wolverines staff that Orji can be the next Jalen Milroe with a better arm.

Orji was a four-star recruit coming out of high school for a reason. Denegal was also a four-star according to some recruiting services and he was one of the most improved players on the team last season.

Denegal is the better thrower, while Orji is known more as a runner. Orji also has a really good understanding of the offense and has seen meaningful snaps with the ball in his hands. That matters and even if he isn’t the starting quarterback next season, Michigan needs to have a role for him.

Each quarterback has spent two seasons in the program and it bears watching if they have taken a big enough step to be considered the starting quarterback in 2024.

The Cade McNamara type

If you have a great defense and a great running game, which I expect the Wolverines will have this season, you can win with a quarterback who is more of a game manager.

Lots of people view that as a derogatory term. It’s not meant that way. Cade McNamara made plenty of big throws down the field and Michigan football won games because of him. Part of that was keeping the offense in good spots, and being aggressive when needed, but mostly, it was about staying out of the way.

Jack Tuttle might be able to do that this season. Like McNamara, he was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and he has started games in the Big Ten. He played five games for the Wolverines last season and understands the offense.

The moment wouldn’t be too big for him and while he would need a strong running game, and the like, Tuttle has a chance to be the kind of quarterback McNamara was in 2021. Tuttle was 15-of-17 for Michigan football last season and has completed 59.8 percent for his career on 199 attempts. He had just six touchdowns and six intercpetions for his career. He’s also dealing with an injury that will limit him this spring.

But after getting another year of eligibility, Tuttle could make a viable case to be the starting quarterback and if the Wolverines are looking to follow the 2021 formula, he might be the best option.

A transfer portal quarterback

ESPN recently predicted that Michigan football would find its 2024 starting quarterback in the spring transfer window. That’s certainly possible, but there aren’t any enticing options right now and the options this spring will be limited.

Alabama landed Tyler Buchner from Notre Dame and we know how that worked out. Alabama,  Georgia, and Ohio State have loaded QB rooms, so maybe one of those former blue-chip recruits enters the portal, but none of them are going to have experience.

The Wolverines have had success in the portal before with Jake Rudock and Shea Patterson. But, the chances of finding a first-team All-Big Ten quarterback are slim. Oregon might have done it with Dillon Gabriel, but even Will Howard is a guy who was going to be a backup for Kansas State. Preferred starters aren’t entering the transfer portal.

That’s the nature of the beast and the idea that Michigan football is going to land some elite quarterback this spring feels like a pipe dream to me. That’s why I’m still betting on the starting quarterback coming from the current roster.

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