Jayden Denegal’s path to Michigan, outlook for 2023

When discussing the depth of the Michigan football quarterback room, grab a chair and make yourself comfortable. The position group happens to be one of the Wolverines’ deepest, and while a 4th or 5th seed signal-caller is not ordinarily expected to be a reliable option, Michigan may be the exception with guys like Jayden Denegal in the fold.

The story so far

Denegal, a four-star quarterback in the class of 2022, garnered a wealth of recruiting attention following his sophomore year at Apple Valley High School in California. Offers were made by the likes of Georgia, Michigan State, Auburn, Arkansas and Utah.

In high school, Denegal was spectacular — throwing for 69 touchdowns to the tune of 4,608 passing yards. He also added 14 rushing touchdowns through 27 appearances.

Due to the removal of in-person evaluations following COVID, the recruiting interest in Denegal cooled substantially. Matt Weiss — Michigan quarterback’s coach at the time — was extended an invite by Jayden’s high school coach to watch him throw at a satellite camp in Redlands, California.

Denegal would go on to be invited by Weiss to work out in front of Michigan’s other coaches and promptly received an offer after the workout. Denegal committed to the Wolverines the same day.

Outlook moving forward

The now 6-foot-5, 238-pound sophomore has been described by Jim Harbaugh as having “great stature as a quarterback.”

“Lean and throws the ball extremely well. Pretty darn athletic,” Harbaugh said of Denegal last winter.

Denegal hasn’t received much playing time, but this shouldn’t lead any to believe that the kid doesn’t have it in the tank. Even so, there would have to be a monumental collapse at the position for Denegal to end up receiving meaningful playing time this fall.

The Michigan QB depth chart is headed by J.J. McCarthy, with a likely close three-way battle between options such as Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren, and Alex Orji. After those names is where you can find Denegal. Expect to see the youngster in some capacity during non-conference play this season but he’s still on the developmental side for the foreseeable future.