Next Year QB Situation.

I will be shocked if it isn't JJ next season. The talent isn't close and he has shown enough this season on the field that should give us confidence that he will fully realize that talent with performance.

I asked my Buckeye friends what they want. And they want no part of JJ. So, it probably has to be JJ.

If JJ is not the starter next season, then the coaches have failed. I don’t think Cade has anything more in him that we haven’t seen. This off-season should have one goal and one goal only - get JJ ready. There is nothing more important than that. And if they can’t, then we have a major problem in this program.

Whoever wins the competition.  I think JJ has more top-level potential but he's going to need to learn touch, decision making, etc.  McNamara isn't the athlete and will need to develop, if possible, the ability to string out plays longer and react to changes post-snap.  But I've watched enough CFB to see dynamic QBs never develop beyond "guy who throws hard and runs around under pressure" and see "game managers" hamstring their teams.  

McCarthy has the talent and the coaching, I think, to be an elite QB and he's likely the odds-on favorite to be the starter next year.  But people can continue to discount McNamara as much as they want but he's shown himself as being a really good QB who you can absolutely win with.

I was in favor of Cade all year but that's mostly due to a defense that could let him play Brian Griese turnover free ball with minimal passing. Defense next year won't be this good, we need more points from our QB specifically. JJ for me, if Cade sticks around to back up(which we need due to JJ and his lack of sliding) great. If not, I can understand. They handled it right this year, JJ wasn't ready for full time but he needs the keys to the car now.

Same...McNamara as #1 with JJ getting plenty of snaps until he's outplayed by JJ and gives the team a better chance to win.

I really like Cade as a QB. A lot. He's everything you want in a leader- solid, doesn't make mistakes, has a very positive attitude- you name it.

But I think at this point, for this offense to be as explosive as it can possibly be, JJ needs #1 snaps. As he gets older, he'll hopefully shore up the wildness. He's so insanely fast and has an absolute cannon. 

I am not anti-Cade at all.  But if JJ makes the expected leap over the offseason his ceiling is so much higher.  

JJ reminds me of Drew Henson, except he is faster and doesn’t want to play for the Yankees.

Cade will end up transferring, which sucks. 

Cade is good. JJ has the potential to be great. JJ didn’t look overmatched last night, and Cade did. To me, that says we need someone like JJ if we’re gonna stay up with the big boys. 

To state the obvious, there is an offseason in which one could develop more than the other.  Putting that aside (and I get that apparently this is an unpopular opinion here) but I am Team Cade.

It's easy to be enamored with running speed and throwing power, but there is so much more that goes into being an elite quarterback and leading an offense.

I lived through the Brady v. Henson situation and I see a lot of similarities.  I'm not saying that Cade will be Brady or that JJ has a contract with the Yankees on the side but there are a lot of similarities.  Henson had the way more powerful arm and better running speed.  Being infatuated with those qualities then was the wrong decision then, and I think it's the wrong decision now (again, assuming no differential in offseason improvement).     

Wormley and Taco left the same year. And we did take a step back.  Back then we also had 2 great CB’s who remained and Mo Hurst.  So the step back took another year.  Once those guys left, the bottom fell out against OSU, Winovich and Gary weren’t enough. 

While I loved what Cade gave us in 2021, JJ is the best option going forward.

He has the arm and mobility to make it hard to beat us with the weapons he'll have around him. Also, the O line will take a step back and we'll need someone who can move.

He will get much better accuracy in practice and during the summer drills too. The fact that he and Donovan and Anthony practiced together a lot while biding their time shows me that he too is a leader like Cade but has way to much upside given how you can jump ship like Ewers any time.

Cade did great this year and I appreciate his leadership and resolve. However, after watching the game last night it's very apparent JJ is elite and Cade is not.  I fully expect JJ to start next year and Cade to be the backup. 

If you want Michigan to be elite.......and understand football talent.....JJ should have been brought along quicker this year. 

JJ is our best QB. Edwards is our best RB. Anthony is our best WR.

I am not a big recruiting guy. I do sort of remember the McCarthy recruiting saga. 

I believe he originally wanted to commit to OSU but then they chose McCord over him.

Next up was ND but then again, they chose Buchner over him.

Which is how he ended up at Michigan. After having watched both Buchner and McCord play this season, it was pretty clear who got the better of the three - Michigan with McCarthy. 

Sometimes it just be like that. 

Michigan isn't going to overcome its talent deficiencies in one or two seasons in comparisons to the UGA and Bama's of the world. Realistically Michigan never overcomes that personnel gap. The counter to it is elite QB play. If the guy touching the ball on every snap can shoulder your team, then it gives you a chance against anybody.

Speaking of shoulders, please teach McCarthy to slide sometimes. 

It’s hard to not think JJ gets the job. They have about the same completion percentage, but it seems like JJ has done better at hitting targets farther downfield. He also can run (he needs to slide though), giving another dimension to the offense. 

It’s time for JJ and that’s not a knock on CM. I’ll be forever grateful and CM is a legend now. Nothing can take that away. 

JJ is generational talent though. Not only that, he will be this teams vocal leader. He has “it”. He will lead and the team will follow. 

I was not one screaming for JJ early in the year and liked CM but it’s time for JJ to take over the next year and this offense will be one of the best in the country. 

Look, the offense this year was based on a perfectly logical analysis of the team's strengths and weaknesses. A bull of a runner in Haskins. The electricity of Corum. The oline--all strengths. But the WR core, while talented, is young and inexperienced outside of Bell. Then Bell was injured. Cade is experienced but limited at QB. The uber-talented QB is a just a true freshman. The assessment: Yeah, let's run the fucking ball A LOT. And it worked! Until last night, when UGA committed themselves to stopping that run to force Cade to beat them and he couldn't. Because beating teams with his arm isn't something Cade has shown he can do. He can't really run with it at all in a read option, which is why JJ was playing throughout the season. Cade not having a great arm is fine. The problem is that Cade is not accurate enough to make up for the deficiencies. He's also too quick to check down and misses guys open downfield. And every batted ball from the bad launch angle is an unforced error. In short, he does make mistakes and lots of them. Cade was a strong game manager, but note that Alabama produces the most talented teams in the game and they've shifted away from game manager-type QBs. Even UGA's QB was scrambling all over the place last night for yards which Cade hardly ever does. Cade's a great kid and a wonderful story, but JJ needs to start moving forward.

JJ may be the starter next season, which I will assume for the rest of this post, but is obviously a TBD prospect.  Still, I am not sure that means that Cade will transfer.

1. Cade's NIL deals may require him to be at a program of Michigan's status. Does he still get that Brady Brand dough if he transfers? https://www.si.com/college/michigan/football/michigan-wolverines-jim-ha…;
2. JJ will get bumped and bruised. Having a backup of Cade's caliber will be important for the season. Jalen Hurts stuck around for the season after Tua passed him.
3. I think that the, "if you have 2 QBs, you have 0 QBs" conventional wisdom is not so wise in an NIL/transfer portal era.

I'll elaborate on #3 a bit. At most, college players will be there for 5 seasons, assuming a Redshirt and similar things. Development takes time, even for the 5-star wunderkinds. Teams aren't trying to build a dynasty like they can in the NFL, they are trying to build a team for this season, and then reload talent for the team next season. So every team needs a "QB in waiting" in order to stay on top of their league/compete for the CFP on an annual basis. Until the playoff expands, to get in you need to (1) win your league AND the conference beauty pageant (2) Be Alabama or Georgia and have only one loss (or maybe two...I don't know if hypothetical 2-loss Bama gets in over 1-loss ND ...). To win the Big Ten, you need a QB who is ready from day one, not someone who will learn on the job.

We're all hoping for JJ to be able to take the next step in his development, improving his control so he's not overthrowing receivers as often and learning to put some touch on his passes when required.  Those sideline passes to Tacopants could easily be picked off if they were thrown over the middle.

We tend to take for granted that QB's of his talent are going to get there but we've seen that it's not always the case.

Cade and JJ will have to battle it out through spring and fall camp.  JJ has the higher ceiling but accuracy and ball security are key.  May the best man win.

I love Cade.. confident, capable, accurate.  yet, he is limited in his development.  we've seen what we'll have with him.

long term -  JJ gives you more.  3 years of JJ as a starter should see tremendous development.  I can foresee a dual operation to start next year and then JJ eventually takes over.  

Season totals: Cade was 210/327 for 2576 yards overall with 15 td’s and 6 int’s. 184 yards a game with 1 td average.   JJ was 34/59 for 516 yards with 5 td’s and 2 int
 

Cade rushed 37 times for 26 yards.  JJ rushed 27 for 124 with 2 td’s. 

I think Cade’s stats against better secondaries, Washington, Ohio St, Iowa and Georgia really pop and that’s where I’m thinking JJ is the better long term option.  Cade was 47/77 for 478 yards with 1 td and 3 int’s. That’s 119 yards per game. 
 

JJ, as many have said, adds the mobility factor to the equation as well. 

Yesterday showed, unless with have damn near elite pass protection against a defense as fast and physical as Georgia’s, we need JJ to step up and be the guy

JJ is the man.

I’ll be honest I’m a little leery on the McCarthy love around here. Cade was clearly the better QB at least this year. Maybe people think that JJ’s potential is higher but he was just scratching the surface this year. Do we really think Cade can’t also improve a lot in his redshirt junior year. He did get us to this point. This is a situation where I trust the coaches and hope both come back at least for the competition and whoever wins gets the nod. If the other wants to come back great but I understand that’s not how it goes these days with QBs. Both are great young men so at least they’ve got that going for them.

To get to the next level you need a mobile QB with speed that can out run the pursuit. One can, one can’t.