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A New Hope: J.J. McCarthy’s keys to ascension

Football is unpredictable, and much like life, it’s ever changing.

Cade McNamara was Michigan’s starting quarterback in 2021, he played admirably for a team that beat Ohio State, won the Big Ten Championship, and made the College Football Playoff.

Nine months after Michigan’s loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl, a new starting quarterback emerged in J.J. McCarthy.

McNamara started the season opener, McCarthy the second game. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said a determination would be made after the second game as to who would be the starting QB moving forward. It was McCarthy who emerged as the starter after Week 2 versus Hawaii, a game where McCarthy was 11-of-12 for 229 yards passing and three touchdowns.