Quick Analysis: What QB Tristan Hughes Brings To Michigan Football

Strengths: Strong arm, quick release, good with handling pressure, accurate throws, and mobile on the run.

Weaknesses: Low release point, might be too short to operate behind a Michigan line, not as thick as a Vic Viramontes type who could withstand a lot of hits.

Harbaugh seems determined to add a little more speed to the equation at quarterback, and even though Dorian Thompson-Robinson has gone to UCLA, Michigan reaches back into the 2017 class and nabs an interesting and fun-to-watch quarterback prospect. Hughes, out of San Diego, California, is 6’0.5”, 184 pounds.

I don’t know that Hughes will make a difference at the next level, especially on a Power 5 team like Michigan, but I am excited to see what Hughes can do with a quarterback guru like Harbaugh. I’m not sure that he would be a natural fit at another position, unfortunately; he’s definitely a quarterback, and this is a tough place to land the starting job. But he is fun to watch, and he’s clearly not afraid of competition.

Player that he could turn into: I’m going to say his ceiling is Ryan Higgins, last year’s starter for Louisiana Tech. Higgins (6’1”, 211) was very successful in his final season there, throwing for 4,600 yards and 41 touchdowns against 8 interceptions on 66.3% completions.

You can see the low release point, the athleticism and the strong arm in those highlights. There’s even a batted down pass about a minute in, and that would be my biggest concern if Hughes were in there running the offense.