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Michigan football coach seemingly puts an end to any quarterback controversy

By Patrick Schmidt

Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara makes a pass against Penn State during the second half of Michigan's 27-17 loss at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020.
Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara makes a pass against Penn State during the second half of Michigan's 27-17 loss at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020. /
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The quarterback competition in Ann Arbor may already be over for Michigan football with Cade McNamara making the most of his spring practices.

It’s still mid-April but the Michigan football starting quarterback job may already be locked up.

Cade McNamara finished last season as the starter for Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines and played well after supplanting Joe Milton on the depth chart. However, his place atop the depth chart was in question entering the offseason after the addition of five-star freshman J.J. McCarthy and Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman coming to Ann Arbor.

However, it doesn’t sound like there will be a challenge to unseat McNamara as Michigan’s starting quarterback to begin the season.

Cade McNamara named Michigan football starting quarterback

First-year Michigan quarterback coach Matt Weiss called McNamara the starter on the In the Trenches podcast with Michigan alum Jon Jansen.

"“Cade is a guy who I think for everything people are going to say to criticize him, he’s a guy that’s going to end up playing 10 years in the NFL because you can say he’s not enough of this, not enough of that. But at the end of the day, he’s really smart, makes great decisions and processes things very fast, and his accuracy and arm strength are more than enough to win with. He’s a guy that’s been awesome to work with. He’s extremely valuable to our team. He’s our starter. Love the fact we have him.”"

Things can change in fall camp and once the season progresses but flat-out naming McNamara the starter in April isn’t that surprising.

McNamara is the only quarterback on the roster to have taken a snap with the Wolverines following the transfers of Milton and Dylan McCarthy.

Bowman has experience at Texas Tech and McCarthy is certainly the quarterback of the future considering his five-star status. However, McNamara is still the quarterback of the present after throwing for 425 yards and five touchdowns without an interception on 43-of-71 passing. He also added a rushing score.

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