Michigan Football Preview 2015 – Quarterbacks

Projected starter: Jake Rudock

Could be a factor: Shane Morris, if he continues to improve. Has a long way to go yet, though.

Watch out for next year: Shane Morris, Zach Gentry, John O’Korn, if he plays like he did as a freshman, Alex Malzone, if he improves his arm strength.

I have no idea how many times I called for Devin Gardner’s benching last year. All I know is that it was a lot and would have been even more if what happened against Minnesota not happened. Gardner gave his all for Michigan last year and for that I commend him. But he made a lot of throws and decisions that would have looked bad coming from a freshman and were downright inexcusable coming from a fifth-year senior. While I didn’t think Shane Morris would have been much, if any, better than Gardner was (he definitely would not have been, the Minnesota game showed this), I figured that if Michigan was going to have a guy out there at quarterback making sophomore mistakes, it might as well be the sophomore.

I don’t Devin Gardner was solely to blame for his poor play. His offensive line didn’t do him any favors, and his coach did him even less than that. Gardner, who in his five years, played two different positions, under three different offensive coordinators, was signed as an undrafted free agent wide receiver by the New England Patriots, but was then cut and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers, in addition to wide receiver, looked at Gardner at quarterback before waiving him. I know he was waived, but after the season he just had at Michigan, for the Steelers to do that says that they obviously saw something there. That tells me a lot of the blame for his performance last year needs to fall on the coaching staff.

If you need further proof of the ineptitude of the previous coaching staff, look no further than Shane Morris. Morris came to Michigan with a ton of potential, but needing improvement on his accuracy and fundamentals. He is now heading into his junior year, and is just now beginning to look like he has a shot at realizing that potential. Watching him in the spring game, it was clear that he improved, even if much of his success in the game came by implementing a strategy of “locate Dennis Norfleet and throw it over him.” Morris at least recognized a mismatch and was putting better touch on his throws. A year ago, he was doing neither of those things.

Even though Morris has improved, thanks to the previous coaching staff’s anti-quarterback-developing philosophy, he still did not look ready to start this year. And thanks to the previous coaching staff’s anti-quarterback-recruiting policy, there wasn’t much behind him on the depth chart.

Enter Jake Rudock.

Rudock, a graduate transfer from Iowa, completed 61.7% of his passes and threw for 2,436 yards (7.06 YPA), 16 TDs and 5 INTs for the Hawkeyes last year. CJ Beathard also saw time at quarterback for Iowa last year, but that seemed less about Rudock being bad (he wasn’t) than seeing if Beathard could bring a spark to the offense (he didn’t).

Jake Rudock is boring. He is so boring there’s even a parody Twitter account called “Boring Jake Rudock.” There is little doubt in my mind that at least some of his boringness was a result of playing in Kirk Ferentz and Greg Davis’ offense. How much? I don’t know. If it’s a lot, Jim Harbaugh and Jedd Fisch could turn him into one of the better quarterbacks in the country. Even if it’s none, though, Michigan has a competent starter.

Beyond Rudock, Michigan has the aforementioned Shane Morris, a highly-touted recruit who nobody at Michigan bothered to coach prior to Harbaugh taking over. Morris has been mediocre in limited action thus far. He was the leader for the job coming out of spring camp, but with Rudock and Zach Gentry not having been on campus yet, that doesn’t say a whole lot. Morris has said he’s not going to let Rudock take the job from him, which was great to hear, but doesn’t seem all that likely. If Morris does end up starting against Utah, though, that’s great, as it means he will have beat out a proven, competent starter for the job as opposed to just two true freshmen and a redshirt one.

Alex Malzone was the other starter in the spring game and looked like a freshman. That’s okay, he is one. He’s an accurate passer and mostly made good decisions with the ball in the spring game, but the arm strength is just not there yet. Malzone probably redshirts this year.

Redshirt freshman Wilton Speight did not play in the spring game due to an injury. A three-star recruit out of high school, he seems to be behind quite a few guys.

Zach Gentry was Jim Harbaugh’s first quarterback recruit at Michigan. A four-star recruit, Gentry flipped from Texas after Texas took a look at Kyler Murray. Gentry stands somewhere between 6’6” and 6’8” and moves quite well for a big man. Even so, he probably redshirts this year. He could challenge for the starting job next year.

John O’Korn will have to sit out this year after transferring from Houston. O’Korn had a nice season in 2013 as a true freshman, completing 58.1% of his passes and throwing for 3,117 yards, 28 TDs and 10 INTs. Then Doug Meacham left for TCU and O’Korn struggled. His sophomore year saw him complete only 52% of his passes and throw for 951 yards, 6 TDs and 8 INTs in six games before getting benched. He could challenge for the starting job next year if he can get back to playing like he did as a freshman.

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com