Michigan Football: Updating key position battles for Wolverines

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh spoke with the media on Friday and here’s what he said on some key positions battles going on at fall camp.

We are now a full week into Michigan football‘s fall camp. The pads came on a few days ago and head coach Jim Harbaugh has had some positive things to say about his team.

It’s obviously very early, but the Wolverines are now just three weeks away from the season opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 4.

There is a lot of anticipation for that game and the start of the season. But there is also some worry as fans aren’t sure what to expect from the 2021 Michigan football team.

As we are starting to learn, the results on the field are going to have a huge impact on the 2022 recruiting class. Getting 8-9 wins and being competitive — i.e. not losing by 30 on your home field to Wisconsin — is going to be critical for this program to rebound under Harbaugh.

For his part, the head coach is very optimistic. He also seems to have the fire back in him that seemed to fade over the past few years. He was seen pushing the sled following practice and also told reporters on Friday, that he’s back to his playing weight.

Whether any of this translates to success on the field is anyone’s guess. But Harbaugh has talked a lot about camp and the 2021 roster and here are some key things he said about position battles we have been paying attention to starting with, you guessed it? Quarterback.

Quarterback

Michigan football is notorious for not allowing much to leak about its practices but reporters have sources and some of the early nuggets were that J.J. McCarthy was making a move or at least had improved.

That was backed up by Jim Harbaugh who said some positive things about McCarthy on a podcast with Jon Jansen. Yet, on Friday, Harbaugh addressed the quarterback room as a whole and said he was impressed by both Cade McNamara and McCarthy. (via 247 sports):

"“Of all the years, the quarterback play at the beginning has been really sharp, really good,” Harbaugh said. “Both Cade (McNamara) and J.J. (McCarthy) have really started fast, there’s been no lull coming out of the gates.”"

Harbaugh also sounded really pleased with McNamara but didn’t give any clues about naming a starter, although it’s expected to be McNamara at this point.

"“Cade’s ahead and he’s got so many of those competitive traits, the ability to make all the throws, but also the ability to get the ball in other people’s hands, make others better,” Harbaugh said. “Probably the No. 1 job of a quarterback when it comes down to it, to be that point guard. So he’s on it, he’s on every detail. He’s on every facet of the leadership, et cetera. And that’s why I’ve said I don’t see him taking a knee or taking a breath (in the quarterback competition).”"

Harbaugh also talked about Alan Bowman and said that he’s coming along fine. He is playing catch-up compared to McCarthy and McNamara. It’s good to have an experienced arm though and the depth this year, feels a little better than last year.