When senior running back Donovan Edwards took to the podium on Monday, he didn’t know the status of his quarterback room — until a reporter enlightened him.
Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore had already taken his turn behind the podium, and with a series of noncommittal “we’ll see” answers he confirmed that the Wolverines’ starting quarterback job was once again up for grabs.
“That’s what he said?” Edwards interjected when asked about Moore’s statements on the quarterback situation. As he learned that Moore hadn’t named a starter, indicating the competition was reopened, Edwards smiled and said “OK, cool.”
Edwards’ reaction is a product of Michigan’s reality. No team wants to be in a quarterback competition over halfway through the season, especially after having swapped starters three times already this season. But that’s the situation the Wolverines are in, so all Edwards and his teammates can do is say “OK” as they make the best of it.
“Regardless of who it is, I’m going to support them,” Edwards said. “I’m going to have their back, and everybody else amongst the office is going to have their backs too.”
From senior Davis Warren to junior Alex Orji to graduate Jack Tuttle, all three Michigan quarterbacks who have taken the field have strengths but also significant liabilities. That’s why they keep getting benched.
First, Warren’s turnover problems — six interceptions in three games — prompted the switch to Orji. Then, Orji’s struggles in the passing game that made the offense one-dimensional led Moore to look for a change of pace in Tuttle. In his opportunity under center, Tuttle piloted some nice drives but was also turnover prone, throwing two interceptions and fumbling twice in a game and a half.
Although Moore declined to provide much information on the quarterback situation beyond “we’ll see as we go this week,” he did give some insight into what he’s looking for in practice to determine a starter.
“Just taking care of the ball,” Moore said. “That’s going to be the number one priority, the biggest thing. You want big plays, you want efficiency, but we have to take care of the football.”
With that focus, it seems like Orji would be the favorite. He only has one interception, so he gives the Wolverines a chance to win just by keeping the ball in their possession. But he provides much less in the passing game than both Warren and Tuttle, forcing play calls for throws that often go behind the line of scrimmage and rely on yards after the catch.
On the Inside Michigan Football Radio Show Monday night, Moore said that Tuttle is still the guy for now. But he caveated the statement with more of his “we’ll see what happens this week” answers.
Each of the options prompt different play calls, so spending the week of practice without a clear starter could hamper Michigan’s ability to install a game plan. And if Tuttle takes up most of the first-team reps and then doesn’t execute on Saturday, whoever replaces him will have less reps under their belt. However, Moore is confident his process will put the best product out on the field.
“You have different things that guys are better at and that you’ll feature for individual people,” Moore said. “But we definitely have a process for what we’ll go through and how we’ll go through it.”
This isn’t uncharted territory for the Wolverines, as they’ve been through that same process multiple times already this season. Michigan’s quarterback competition is a storyline once again this week. It was technically reopened after Moore didn’t name a starter — but really, it never closed.
The post Michigan reopens quarterback competition after back-to-back losses appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
Leave a Reply