Josh Gattis updates QB competition for first time since spring football cancelation

Whenever college football winds up being played again, the Michigan Wolverines are going to have a new starting quarterback. According to offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who spoke to the Michigan media on a Zoom call Thursday morning, the battle is wide open.

And it features three players.

Redshirt junior Dylan McCaffrey and redshirt sophomore Joe Milton are the two players discussed the most among fans and pundits for who suits up next season under center, but Gattis also said that redshirt freshman Cade McNamara is in the mix, as well.

“We got to get the (practice) reps, we got to get the battle going to figure out who’s going to be our quarterback,” Gattis said. “They’re all even. They’re all dead even. There’s nobody out front, there’s nobody left behind. Each guy is different. Each guy has a different strength and a different weakness than the other guys, and so it’s a really interesting battle because we’ve got to be able to decide who’s going to give us the best opportunity to win games.

“I think all three can gives us opportunities to win games. We’re just going to have to catch them up. No guy’s out front, no guy’s behind. There is no order. It’s not based on last year. It’s not based on depth chart last year. Those things are not important. What the depth chart last year was, was irrelevant because we had one quarterback who was our starter. So it doesn’t matter who was listed as a 2, it doesn’t matter who was listed as a 3. Shea Patterson was our quarterback.”

As of now, Michigan’s offense is meeting virtually and has been doing one install per week with players working on their own. Gattis says that while the signal-callers have not been able to show what they can do on the field, he has been impressed with the trio stepping up as leaders and taking control.

“They’re all three doing great,” he said. “They’re all three skyrocketing from a leadership standpoint, so that’s what’s exciting is now. What else involves a quarterback? The DNA, the leadership, the mental aspects. (Quarterbacks) coach (Ben) McDaniels has done a really good job developing those guys along in that area. We’re excited about where we are, the number of pieces we have.

“We’re in no rush to make a decision. If it takes us however long it’s going to take us to make that decision, that’s how long it’s going to take us, and we’ll make the best decision to give our team the opportunity to win.”