Who should he choose?

That’s the quandary Sherrone Moore and the Michigan Wolverines face after last year’s championship-winning quarterback, JJ McCarthy, left for the NFL. In fact, Moore’s new starting QB faces intense pressure to be a “legit” leader.

Recreating a perfect 15-0 season without their championship-winning quarterback and mastermind coach, Jim Harbaugh, is quite tricky for Michigan. Amidst the pressure, an analyst, J.D. PicKell, addressed a burning question: “What would it look like for legit quarterback play at Michigan?”

On June 16, the On3 host tackled some key questions on the 2024 Wolverines. He soon jumped to the vacant QB spot and dispelled the myth of a “legit” QB.  He “doesn’t need to look like throwing for 300 yards. Doesn’t need to look like winning the Heisman Trophy,” the analyst noted. For Michigan’s current playing style, he explains, legit means “doing what’s needed” to win. He then points to JJ McCarthy’s performance last season as a prime example.

He noted that last year, JJ McCarthy “wasn’t throwing over 300 yards every game. In fact in a lot of their biggest games he was handling the ball off making plays with his legs, efficiently throwing the ball downfield,” he said. He stressed how Ann Arbor would still agree that “JJ McCarthy last year for us was legit.”

According to the analyst, Michigan football’s core identity will remain largely unchanged with new head coach Sherrone Moore. “It’s still going to be a 60% of the time run the football kind of team,” he added. 

He said, “Being the difference maker in games where the roster talent is a little bit more even” is what will make a QB legit. Now, does Sherrone Moore have a quarterback on his roster capable of doing this?

Sherrone Moore’s quarterback battle is intensifying

A cloud of uncertainty has hung over Michigan’s starting signal caller position since JJ McCarthy’s departure. Head coach Sherrone Moore remained tight-lipped, simply saying, “We’ll see,” when pressed about a replacement last month. Soon came the Wolverines’ spring game offering a glimpse of possibilities. 

Senior quarterback Davis Warren led the way with two touchdowns, but fans yearned for Jack Tuttle’s impressive 60% completion rate. Unfortunately, an undisclosed injury sidelined Tuttle for many practice sessions, opening the door for Warren. Now, looking ahead, junior quarterbacks Alex Orji and Jayden Denegal are steadily improving and could see action sooner than expected. The mix is further stirred by the arrival of freshman QB Jadyn Davis, a highly rated 4-star recruit this year.

While the quarterback carousel seems promising, a key question remains: can any of these signal-callers step up and become the difference-maker the Wolverines’ offense desperately needs?