Michigan Football: Transfer of QB JT Daniels shouldn’t be dismissed

There has been rumors of transfer QB JT Daniels is interested in Michigan football and here’s why he shouldn’t just be dismissed by fans.

In five years as Michigan football‘s head coach, Jim Harbaugh has brought in three transfer quarterbacks in Jake Rudock, John O’Korn and Shea Patterson.

O’Korn was never really meant to be a starter as he was kind of forced into the job in 2017 after Wilton Speight’s injury early in the season against Purdue. As for Rudock and Patterson, it is hard to argue from a numbers standpoint that those quarterbacks didn’t have success (they threw 65 touchdowns compared to 24 interceptions combined in three seasons).

But none of those transfer quarterbacks ended up having the skill set to get Michigan football over the hump, something the fan base has been begging for since its last Big Ten championship in 2004.

A lot of fans do not want to see another transfer quarterback come into the program. They want Harbaugh to stay with Dylan McCaffery and Joe Milton, who are players he recruited.

And quite frankly, it is hard to blame them. Clearly, snagging transfer quarterbacks hasn’t worked in terms of Michigan being able to win a Big Ten title or beat Ohio State, so why keep trying that?

However, this line of thinking has to be approached with a bit of caution. While it is totally reasonable to have that perspective, what makes us so sure that Milton or McCaffery are the ones to push Michigan over the hump? And if one of them were going to bring the Wolverines to the top, isn’t it concerning that one of them didn’t win the job over Patterson last season?

These are questions that are fair to ask, which is why it would be smart for Michigan’s coaching staff to do its due diligence and at least give USC transfer JT Daniels a look.

The former five-star recruit has plenty of good qualities to his game and he reportedly has interest in coming to Ann Arbor.

Why Daniels to Michigan football could Make Sense

An obvious reason Michigan could be an ideal place for Daniels is because the relationship he already has with the coaching staff.

In 2017, Michigan recruited the 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback out of high school and offered him a scholarship. Daniels showed heavy interest in the Wolverines before officially signing with USC as part of the Trojans 2018 class.

The ACL injury Daniels suffered that caused him to miss the entire 2019 season is a concern, but clearly Harbaugh liked his skill set coming out of high school.

As a freshman, Daniels had some bumpy spots on a 5-7 USC team, throwing 14 touchdowns with 10 interceptions, but showed flashes in the process.

In the one game he played last season against Fresno State before he got injured, he showed signs of being a patient quarterback who went through multiple reads before making a decision.

He also showed some ability to throw on the run and move around in the pocket to avoid the rush along with getting the ball out quick on shorter routes when he needed to.

Daniels also seemed to deliver the deep ball with good accuracy in that game, although the arm strength was not eye-popping, especially when having to make a throw to the other side of the field.

Would Daniels put Michigan Over the Top?

This is a question that the coaching staff will have to try to answer. The Wolverines may be a little more than just a quarterback away from greatness, but elite play from that position goes a long way in college football and can help cover up other holes on a roster.

Whether it is Milton, McCaffery, or a transfer such as Daniels, the job of the coaches is to give Michigan football the best chance for success.

Who gives Michigan the best chance the best chance to win remains to be seen, but when there is a quarterback like Daniels out there who says he is interested, that is certainly an option the Wolverines need to explore, regardless of what transfers have or haven’t worked out in the past.