Michigan Football: What to make of QB transfer Alan Bowman

In a move that was maybe a little unexpected but not shocking, Michigan football landed a transfer at quarterback in Alan Bowman formerly of Texas Tech. 

As far as Michigan football is concerned, there were two significant things that happened on Sunday. The first was the expected commitment of five-star cornerback Will Johnson.

The second, which was announced just moments before that, was the addition of quarterback Alan Bowman from the transfer portal out of Texas Tech.

Bowman is a 6-foot-3, 215-pound passer who was a three-star recruit back in 2018. He started for the Red Raiders last season and has played in 19 career games but left in the transfer portal and will come to Michigan football with three years of eligibility.

In 19 career games, Bowman threw 33 touchdown passes for the Red Raiders to go along with 17 interceptions, and perhaps, most impressive, he completed 67 percent of his passes.

Of course, much of that offense is predicated on short, quick throws, but still, it’s a solid number and while some fans might worry about what this might mean, to me, it’s just insurance.

This isn’t about J.J. McCarthy

Read my lips: this isn’t about J.J. McCarthy and while it could make it harder for him to win the job this fall, it’s not going to impact his career with Michigan.

Bowman may have three years of eligibility remaining but I don’t think he’s a serious threat to be the long-term starter. Maybe he wins the job in fall camp and holds off McCarthy, however, J.J. is the future and it’s only a matter of time before he takes over.

What the addition of Bowman does though, is give Michigan some much-needed depth and experience. Consider that before this move, the Wolverines quarterbacks, all of them, had a combined one college start between them.

Another factor is that in the modern world of college football, with the transfer portal, you always need to think ahead.

Say Cade McNamara loses the job to McCarthy, how long will he stick around? And if he leaves via the portal, Michigan would then be without an experienced backup.

Obviously, you never know exactly how things will work out. What we do know is that Michigan added a solid quarterback with the kind of experience none of its others had and that’s not a bad thing for any reason.