Reasons Why Cade McNamara will Start for Michigan Football
Michigan will take the field against Western Michigan in 100 days but no one knows who will be quarterbacking the Wolverines on that day. Redshirt sophomore Cade McNamara, true freshman JJ McCarthy and incoming graduate transfer Alan Bowman are expected to battle it out for the right to start. All three have talent and all three probably think they can be the guy. It's going to come down to who moves the chains, who takes care of the ball and who gains the trust of the rest of the team. Here's why it'll be McNamara...
1. Familiarity
McNamara's entire three-year career has been with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. True freshman JJ McCarthy can't say that and neither can incoming graduate transfer Alan Bowman. McNamara's familiarity with Gattis, the offensive approach in general, the terminology and the other offensive players gives him a major advantage heading into the 2021 campaign.
2. Support
With three years at Michigan under his belt, McNamara is going to have support from the rest of the team that McCarthy and Bowman simply don't have. McCarthy could be the hardest working, most likable young quarterback ever, and Bowman might arrive in Ann Arbor with bells on, but you can't recreate three years of working, sweating and bleeding with your brothers. I'm not saying there will be a rift anywhere on the team between players as quarterbacks battle it out, but McNamara has established chemistry and camaraderie with the rest of the team that only occurs over time.
3. Confidence
Lastly, McNamara has to feel pretty good about his chances to lead the team for the reasons mentioned above and because new quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss openly called him the starter. McNamara doesn't have as many starts as Bowman, but he has more starts at Michigan. He's very comfortable with Josh Gattis, the skill players on the roster and the offensive linemen blocking for him. He understands the Big Ten and what it's like to play in The Big House and on the road around the conference. Even though he's quite young, he's going to feel like the veteran in the quarterback room at least for a while. Once Bowman is around for a while that gap will close, but McNamara rightfully sees himself as the starter 100 days out.
