Is Michigan Football being too cautious with J.J. McCarthy?

With news that Michigan football’s QB battle will probably bleed into the season as neither QB has really been hands down better than the other, we’ve already covered what that could potentially look like during the season.

I would never claim to be as smart as Jim Harbaugh or any of the assistant coaches, but some decisions that are made, I don’t agree with (and don’t have to agree with). Some decisions that are made can be deemed as questionable at best, as even some media members that cover Michigan football don’t always agree with everything Michigan’s coaches do.

One of those instances is the decision to not ride with the young talent over the grizzled veteran.

What still doesn’t make sense about the QB battle

Cade McNamara is a great quarterback. We all know that by now. Michigan football would not have won the Big Ten without him. He is almost irreplaceable and deserved more than a third-team All-Big Ten nod last year.

He is just so cool, calm, and collected. Even when he makes a rare mistake or misfires on a throw, he never seems rattled and out of the moment. He can stand in the pocket and take a hit and get right back up again. He’s also apparently improved since last season. Like Harbaugh says, Cade never flinches from the moment.

How can you not love a QB that can win you games? Well, the problem with the situation is, that no matter how good someone might be, there might be someone out there that’s better. And that man is J.J. McCarthy.

Cade McNamara is viewed as the safer option. That’s in a nutshell. Well, in today’s world, the safer option only gets you so far.

Harbaugh wants a QB who can stand in the pocket, make the right throws, and not turn the ball over. That’s all fine and dandy and will surely get Michigan in the conversation for another playoff appearance, but what’s the point of having a five-star QB if you won’t use him?

McCarthy gets maybe 10-15 snaps a game. It depends on the situation and the opponent. At least that’s what he got last year. Obviously, he was a freshman last year, and he will get a lot more snaps this year, but he needs to actually start.

What did Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields, etc have in common? What they had in common was they were high-level recruits that were given free reins to experiment and get better naturally.

They weren’t restricted like JJ has been restricted. They might not have started their freshman year either as there was a veteran ahead of them (as barely any true freshman QBs start in college football anyways) but at the same time, once that first year went by and they learned the offense, they had the keys to the car and were able to drive it and own the offense.

Owning the entire offense means J.J. McCarthy will make some mistakes. He will. He will also make some plays not many players can make (including Cade). So you take the good with the bad.

You don’t handicap your best player because you are afraid or uncertain of mistakes or errors being made. It happens to even the best players.

Once again, every single quarterback in college football makes mistakes. Who’s to say that McCarthy will keep making the same mistakes when he’s actually controlling the offense? Practice settings are different than game settings. You can’t simulate an actual game.

And people are going to say that Michigan football doesn’t need that risk. Well, they should if they want a player like Jadyn Davis to commit to Michigan. McCarthy has been insanely patient to just sit around and be a backup every year.

There’s more to being a quarterback than just not throwing interceptions or fumbling the football.

Every quarterback makes mistakes. The only way J.J. can learn from them is by fully starting games. He has to play some games to learn.

The occasional McCarthy snap like last year doesn’t tell us a ton. We need to see J.J. starting for full games before we can determine whether he’s turnover prone or not, or doesn’t have what it takes to start.

I just have always felt McCarthy has been held back. I know it’s for his own benefit, and he will (maybe) start when the time is right, but I feel like that time can be now. Why can’t it be now?

You don’t learn until you learn, if you know what I mean. Cade starting is great, and I’m fine with that, but I take issue with the reason for not starting McCarthy, at least the one people keep reporting (Harbaugh hasn’t named a starter).

Michigan fans, how do you feel about Michigan’s use of J.J. McCarthy? Is Harbaugh being too cautious with JJ? Sound off in the comments below!