Michigan Football: Comparing the Wolverines quarterback candidates

Shea Patterson is headed out of Ann Arbor soon and a new signal-caller must be crowned. Here is a deep dive into the Michigan football candidates.

For two years, Michigan football quarterback Shea Patterson played a major role in the successes – and failures – of the Wolverines, and it’s come time to replace him.

As inconsistent as Patterson could be at times, he had days when he appeared irreplaceable – he also had days when the millions watching were mystified that Joe Milton or Dylan McCaffrey (who’s commonly referred to as DCaf)  weren’t given a chance; surely, they couldn’t be that bad.

For better or for worse, head coach Jim Harbaugh stuck it out with his senior, giving the backups minor minutes typically during garbage time. Maybe Jim, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, and quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels saw something in Shea that nobody else observed at the time, or maybe Dylan and Joe weren’t ready, we may never know.

That season is over now and instead of dwelling on the past, the time has come to crown a new king of the offense.

The task is daunting and no matter what choice is made, the staff will never make everyone happy – If you took an exhaustive poll of the Michigan football faithful, the vote would likely be split between Milton and McCaffrey. Regardless, the coaches don’t have the luxury of ignoring the issue and not one of the candidates have the option of relaxing or trying their hand at golf, especially not this offseason.

Here’s a look at those in the running:

Rankings are as follows: (Position, State, Overall)

Dylan McCaffrey

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 220

Class: 2017

Rankings: ESPN (6, 1, 117)/247 sports (5,2,123)/Rivals (1,7,131)

Testing results (ESPN): 40 – 4.87/20-yard shuttle – 4.63/Vertical – 30.3

High school stats (MaxPreps): *Over four years* 8,023 passing yards, 80 touchdowns, 16 interceptions.

247 sports evaluation:

"McCaffrey has great bloodlines and is a tremendous talent. He’s a pure pocket passer with good athleticism and a great feel for the game. He’s the rare QB who can go under canter and take a drop, shows very good footwork and poise. He’s a natural leader with the arm strength needed to make all the throws and is able to escape pressure and make a play with his legs. He projects as an elite high major prospect- Biggins"

Joe Milton

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 245

Class: 2018

Rankings: ESPN (7, 27, 119)/247 sports (9, 35, 204)/Rivals (11, 37,200)

Testing results (ESPN): 40 – 4.80/20-yard shuttle – 4.65/ Vertical – 32.2

High school stats (MaxPreps): *Over three years* 3,975 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, 19 interceptions.

247 sports evaluation:

"Milton is a bouncy athlete who is light on his feet, so you have to like his ability to evade pressure and extend plays with his legs. His size for the position is obvious, but overall, he is a good looking athlete who can provide that game-changing play under center.Milton also does a good job of transferring weight and stepping into his throws. He has packed on solid mass over the past year, and measures in at roughly 6-foot-5 when lacing up the cleats. He can continue to work on his accuracy on some of his intermediate throws, but flashes great ball placement when extending the field with the deep ball."

Who else?

Michigan does have other options.

Incoming freshman Dan Villari, a late addition to the 2020 class, from Massapequa, NY, is an interesting alternative to the mainstream choices. He no doubt deserves to be a college quarterback, though he will likely be a project for the coaches to mold into an elite passer and not the plug-and-play type.

Cade McNamara has a year under his belt for this offense and has every right to be considered. He hails from Nevada where he was ranked 1st in-state and the 7th overall Pro-style quarterback, but until begins taking reps with the first or second team, it’s the season of McCaffery or Milton.

Matt’s musings

Who will start?

That’s a fantastic question that I’m sure will not have a concrete answer until at least August, but if I were to take my best guess as to who will get the nod, I’m going with Dylan.

DCaf obtained enough trust from the coaches to enter as the second-string quarterback behind Shea Patterson, and he would occasionally either be on the field with Shea as a decoy, or he’d take over for a play or two that required a better runner for the specific play call. There was also load management for Patterson when he was injured early on which played a factor in Dylan’s playing time.

Milton held his own when he moved up behind Patterson as the injured McCaffrey sat on the sidelines due to a nasty – and confirmed targeting – hit from Wisconsin’s safety Reggis Pearson that automatically entered him into concussion protocol. Although, Milton found the endzone both passing and rushing against Rutgers – not exactly the stiffest competition.

That’s not to say Joe isn’t a viable option. The thing is, Harbaugh did mention utilizing a two-quarterback system before the 2019 campaign and with how talented both of these quarterbacks are, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were five to 10 play calls or more a game specifically for Milton. Gattis has proven to be an exceptional coach with creativity paving his way to a record-setting season for Michigan football offensively.

Ultimately, the decision will come down to the candidates and their work ethic, performance in practice, and most importantly: leadership.

“This period of time is an important time, winter conditioning,” Harbaugh said. “You get a chance to show you’re the hardest-working guy on the team. You’ve got a chance to lead. You’ve got a chance to show your teammates just how bad you want it.”