Michigan Football: Could Wolverines take two QBs in 2022?

With a new offer going out at quarterback in the 2022 class, could the Wolverines possibly take two at the position? 

Just when you think that there is going to be some clarity at the quarterback position in Michigan football‘s 2022 class, things get shaken up again.

This spring, Nate Johnson, a three-star recruit out of Clovis, California, started to emerge as the top target. Quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss was comparing him to Lamar Jackson and the dual-threat quarterback scheduled a visit for June.

As dynamic as Johnson is as an athlete — he just ran a 10.52 in the 100-meter dash — there are some questions about his ability to throw the football.

He was limited to a spring season out in California but the offers haven’t really flooded in after that. At the same time, Michigan football has offered two new prospects at the position.

One is three-star quarterback Conner Harrell out of Alabama, while the other is Cal commit Justyn Martin, who received his offer over the weekend from U-M.

Harrell is 6-foot-1 and has some impressive passing numbers including 42 touchdown passes last season for his 7A school in Alabama. He’s also a dual-threat option and a kid considering some other schools with high academic standards such as Duke, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern.

Martin, who is 6-foot-4 and ranked in the top 300 overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings, said this to Maize and Brew about his conversation with Jim Harbaugh:

"“They said that they loved them (the clips). Coach Harbaugh offered me and it was a great conversation. It’s amazing to be associated with coach Harbaugh and for a guy with his historical background to offer me — it was awesome. When he offered me it was just a great feeling. He didn’t sugarcoat anything and it was definitely an achievement to be recognized by him.”"

Martin’s interview makes him seem pretty excited about the offer from the Wolverines and likely interested in playing for Jim Harbaugh.

So if they can flip him from Cal, does that take Johnson out of the mix? Or are two quarterbacks possible in 2022?

Why two quarterbacks could make sense

You don’t see many programs take two quarterbacks in one recruiting class anymore because so many feelings at the position have to be massaged.

Now with the transfer portal and the ability to play right away open to everyone, it’s literally like free agency.

But as we’ve talked about, Johnson is athletic enough to play somewhere else. He could possibly be a running back or a wide receiver. There’s still a chance he ends up as a Michigan football quarterback and Weiss does want to go towards more of a true dual-threat option, at least if the recruiting targets have been any indication.

It will be interesting to see what happens and when some of these guys get to Ann Arbor, that will help shed light on things.

But getting dynamic athletes is part of recruiting and even if he’s not a quarterback in college, Johnson is a good enough athlete for Michigan to take a flyer on.