When Jim Harbaugh announced the much-watched quarterback competition between returning starter and captain Cade McNamara and young sophomore J.J. McCarthy would bleed into the regular season, many called him crazy for divulging this admittedly unorthodox approach to the situation.
It was a gamble, but the rewards have been handsome. Michigan is now 13-0 for the first time and in serious contention for the National Championship. While not all this success is attributable to the winner of that quarterback battle, McCarthy’s development from a so-called gunslinger into a leader of the Harbaughian variety warrants a review.
He is raising the ceiling of what the program is capable of, and we will soon see how high that new benchmark is.