Could Michigan Football pass on a QB in 2022?

Among the topics on this week’s Future Brew podcast includes the quarterback position for the Michigan Wolverines in this 2022 recruiting cycle. Most of their options have either committed elsewhere or left them off their top list. One of the newest additions to the target board is California three-star dual-threat prospect Nate Johnson. All eyes will be on him this spring as his junior season unfolds.

Von: Jon, at this point, it really seems like Nate Johnson is the only option here — a 6-foot-2 dual-threat quarterback. What do you think of him, and how high do you think he could rise in the rankings, because he’s barely a top 1,000 guy at this point?

Jon: I think right now, he’s more of an athlete than a quarterback. He’s probably one of the fastest guys in the country. He runs like a 10.8 in the 100-meter. He’s a really strong runner, so he has that dimension to his game. It’s just the questions on his ability to throw the ball, which is obviously important as a quarterback. That’s going to determine his ranking and how it goes from here. He’s having a season right now that is underway, so that’s giving him a chance to get seen again for the first time in a year and a half, and he has some eyes on him now that he got that Michigan offer.

Von: Stephen, with all these quarterbacks leaving Michigan offer their top list, getting crystal balls somewhere else or committing somewhere else, a little bit of me thinks maybe Michigan won’t get one this cycle. They got one in the portal this offseason, J.J. McCarthy or Cade McNamara could end up taking a big step. In your opinion, do you find it necessary to take a quarterback this cycle?

Stephen: I wouldn’t say it’s necessary; I would say it’s risky, because you’re not always guaranteed to get someone from the portal. I could see Michigan going without a quarterback, but a Nate Johnson is exactly the guy that you want. He’s a guy who can run the mid-4.4’s, who is also 6-foot-3, can be utilized in a ton of different ways, and he’s kind of your best case scenario to me because you can deploy him elsewhere. Most of his sophomore highlights were wide receiver, and he’s only just recently started playing quarterback. Being able to pitch the versatility that he’d be offered at Michigan, it’s just the case now where, will another program of Michigan’s size step in and offer the same? He’s too risky at this point in his career to truly take as a quarterback for most programs, unless you’re in the same situation Michigan is in the quarterback room. I’m personally okay with Michigan not taking a quarterback just because the depth chart has plenty of guys now. But, I mean, how many times have we seen where one guy transfers, one guy gets injured and then you’re down to two guys and it’s really scary? I think that’s kind of the reason I’m always in favor of taking a guy even if he’s a lower-floor guy like Nate Johnson.

Listen to the entire podcast below.

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