Michigan’s next backup quarterback: Who exactly is Brian Cleary?

Michigan quarterback Russell Bellomy was penciled in by many U-M fans as the team’s second-string signal caller for 2013. That changed when the redshirt sophomore tore his anterior cruciate ligament during spring practice Friday.

Let the debate for who should backup starter Devin Gardner begin.

One potential replacement at backup is incoming-freshman Shane Morris (Warren, Mich./De La Salle Collegiate). Morris is the all-everything lefty and many believe (read: pray) he will be redshirted to preserve his eligibility for a title run in 2014 and beyond.

The other option at backup is walk-on Brian Cleary (Detroit, Mich./Univ. of Detroit Jesuit). The 6-3, 199-pound redshirt freshman is pretty much an enigma at this point.

We really only know a few things about Cleary:

• He shares the No. 6 jersey with cornerback Raymon Taylor,
• He ran an incredibly slow 40-yard-dash time in high school (5.04),
• Had U-M burned his shirt when Denard Robinson got injured against Nebraska last season, he would have been the fourth-string QB behind Gardner, Bellomy, and Jack Kennedy, and
• According to Angelique Chenglis of the Detroit News, he has earned approval from offensive coordinator Al Borges.

With key players dropping like flies in spring practice, don’t be surprised if coach Brady Hoke sits Gardner during the spring game like he did with Robinson last season. U-M cannot lose Gardner, plus the Wolverines need to sort out the backup spot anyway—remember, Morris will not be on campus until this summer.