Jim Harbaugh brushed off a question Thursday about the increasing number of quarterbacks to depart Michigan under his watch, pointing to the ease and popularity of transferring in the current climate.
Joe Milton was the latest Michigan quarterback to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal earlier this month, joining Dylan McCaffrey as the second player at the position with plans to depart this offseason.
Since Harbaugh’s arrived at Michigan in December 2014, three quarterbacks he and his staff recruited out of high school — Brandon Peters, McCaffrey and now Milton — have either transferred or announced plans to transfer, while a fourth (Zach Gentry) switched positions altogether.
“A common theme?,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, you can point to — there’s been a trend in college football that way. Players — it’s been increasing every year — going into the portal.”
Three additional scholarship quarterbacks — Alex Malzone, Shane Morris and Wilton Speight, none of which were recruited Harbaugh or his staff — also transferred out of the program, which has leaned on transfers under Harbaugh.
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In fact, two of Michigan’s most successful quarterbacks statistically from 2015 to 2020 were Jake Rudock and Shea Patterson, both transfers.
“Now that it looks like one-time transfer is definitely at hand — close, anyway — I think it’s something the players are investigating and looking into,” Harbaugh said.
Michigan is far from the only school hampered by transfers. A recent check of the NCAA-furnished portal shows hundreds of names of players looking for a fresh start elsewhere, including more than 50 quarterbacks. McCaffrey announced on Feb. 1 that he plans to transfer to the University of Northern Colorado, where he’ll play for head coach Ed, his dad.
But if there is one common thread among the quarterback departures at Michigan, it’s playing time. Peters was beat out for the starting job in 2018 by Patterson, while McCaffrey opted to leave before the start of fall camp last year — when he was expected to compete with Milton for the No. 1 spot.
While Milton later won the starting job in 2020, he lost it five games into the abbreviated season to redshirt freshman Cade McNamara.
McNamara, a four-star prospect in Harbaugh’s 2018 recruiting class, is the frontrunner to win the starting job this fall — especially after the expected departure of Milton. But he’s also expected to be challenged by newcomer J.J. McCarthy, a freshman who earned consensus five-star status from the major recruiting services.
“J.J.’s doing extremely well — and I could say that, really, (about others),” Harbaugh said. “It’s been impressive — the midyears.”
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