The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1518781
58 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2024 I t seems like yesterday that Jim Harbaugh's first Michigan team in 2015 was going through spring ball trying to find the pieces to turn the program around. The Wolverines had gone 5-7 in Brady Hoke's last year, but Hoke and his staff had left Harbaugh plenty of great players — thankfully, there was no transfer portal back then — or, as Harbaugh used to say, "a lot of clay to be molded." But there was one piece Hoke didn't leave him, and it just hap- pened to be the most important — a quarterback. Shane Morris was supposed to be the guy, but he never became the player many expected him to be. Wilton Speight was an afterthought, though he'd become a more than serviceable starter the next year. So, Harbaugh didn't waste time when he realized his best option was elsewhere. Through backchan- nels, he and his staff went out and found a guy — Iowa's Jake Rudock — who probably raised the ceiling by a few games in a 10-3 season. Whether they'll admit it publicly or not, first-year head coach Sherrone Moore and offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell will probably have to do the same if the 2024 Michigan team is go- ing to reach its potential. Right now, though, they're saying all the right things about the guys in their room. "We're going to evaluate the guys on our roster this spring, and we're excited with them," Campbell said just before the start of spring ball. "And I have no concerns that there's not a guy on this roster that will be able to lead Michigan next year." Which is exactly what he should say. The last thing Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, Jayden Denegal, Davis Warren and Jadyn Davis need to hear heading into their auditions is "We have no confi- dence in the group we have." Sometimes, guys blossom later than others — Speight is a great example, a guy we never thought would take mean- ingful snaps at Michigan but led the Wolverines to within a breath of a win at Ohio State and a Big Ten champion- ship game appearance. But much has changed since Har- baugh first arrived. We always expected him to vie for titles, but with three straight Big Ten crowns and a national championship on the résumé — and a potentially "special" defense return- ing — the bar has been raised to "repeat — again." It's within reach if the coaches can find a guy behind center who can take the offense to another level. "Any time you can put a guy out there that's going to help you win the game first off, and not lose the game, that's probably the number one thing," Campbell said of what he's looking for in a quarterback. "Being able to play within the confines of a system, but then extending plays as well is also important. "A guy that can play on time, deliver the football accurately, and then have a little bit to his game to extend … that's great criteria to judge a starting quarterback by." At the same time, they're also breaking in a new offensive line and a new trio of starting receiv- ers. That's when you most need a difference-maker at quarterback, and from everything we've heard, that guy isn't on the roster … at least not yet. Orji has all the tools, but he's inconsistent as a passer. Davis might be the guy eventually, but not as a true freshman. So — now is the time. No, we're n o t s u g ge s t i n g " ta m p e r i n g " (though let's be honest — "por- taling" is pretty much just that for most other competitive pro- grams). But there are ways to find out which guys might be on the move if they don't win the starting job at their school, and still plenty of teams with two outstanding quarterbacks instead of one. "Rather than sit," you tell them, "how about coming and starting for a team that can make the playoff with one of the nation's elite defenses?" The Wolverines have used the portal to their advantage in the past few years, and it won them a title. Campbell was part of it, and he understands as well as anyone how it works. "A constant evaluation of your roster is always important," he said. "That's a daily process. We meet about it all the time as an offense. So, it's something we're constantly evaluating. How do you improve your roster? "I think you're just open with the guys. We're not going to live in the transfer portal, but we're going to add complementary pieces." And — sometimes — the most impor- tant piece. A great quarterback isn't a luxury, but a necessity. If he's out there, they owe it to everyone in the building to go out and get him. ❑ In 2015, Michigan turned to Jake Rudock, a transfer from Iowa, to quarterback the Wolverines to a 10-3 mark in Jim Harbaugh's first season as head coach. It remains to be seen whether Sherrone Moore will use the transfer portal to bring in a quar- terback in 2024. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas @thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @Balas _ Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN ❱ CHRIS BALAS All Eyes On The QBs (And Portal?)