Michigan Football: Who is the backup QB, Joe Milton or Brandon Peters?

Michigan football lost its backup quarterback Dylan McCaffrey to injury last week, prompting the question, who is the backup to Shea Patterson?

Just about everything went right for Michigan football last Saturday against Penn State, in a 42-7 win over the Nittany Lions. The one negative though, is that the Wolverines lost backup quarterback Dylan McCaffrey due to an injury.

McCaffrey broke his collarbone against Penn State, which effectively ends his season. Now, Michigan football has a big decision to make and that’s who will backup Shea Patterson? Will it be the veteran Brandon Peters or the freshman Joe Milton?

At his press conference this week, Jim Harbaugh said the two would compete for the job this week in practice.

“We’ll see this week,” Harbaugh said this week to local reporters. “Brandon and Joe will compete for that spot.”

We should find out Saturday because there is a good chance fourth-ranked Michigan football is going to beat Rutgers handily. The Wolverines are currently a 39-point favorite against the Scarlet Knights, so you wouldn’t expect Patterson to play the entire game.

That would give Michigan a chance to play either Peters or Milton. Both have played in spot duty this year, with Milton running the ball twice for 22 yards and Peters attempting one pass. So whichever quarterback gets the nod against Rutgers might be the new backup, but there is one other thing to consider.

Since Milton is such a talent, the Wolverines would like to preserve his redshirt. Right now he has played in one game and could play in three others if needed, while still keeping his year of eligibility. That means Milton could play Saturday and still have two games left to burn.

“I think we’re on schedule for (his redshirt), he’s participated in one game, he can play in three more games and still have the redshirt,” Harbaugh said according to the Detroit Free Press. “We’d like to (keep his redshirt). Don’t know if we’ll be able to.”

Peters could also use more snaps. He hasn’t played since extended snaps since the Outback Bowl and while many Michigan football fans are ready to give up on him, he might still be worth developing.

My point of view is this: If Patterson gets hurt in a 50/50 game like Ohio State or Indiana or god forbid, the Big Ten championship, I’d put Milton in there. He has an electrifying arm and the ability to threaten teams with the run. Peters is a purely pocket passer and while he throws a decent ball, his arm talent is not on the same level as Milton.

Some might argue that a game manager would be the way to go with the Michigan defense, however, I think the exact opposite. A championship defense affords you the ability to take more risks offensively and if Patterson goes down in a competitive situation, the Wolverines should go with Milton. That’s also why they should give him snaps against Rutgers if at all possible.