Cade McNamara Leading Better Than Any Michigan QB Ryan Hayes Has Seen

Michigan Wolverines football had seven team captains last season but appeared to lack leadership, with some of its players admitting as much. The culture wasn't strong during the 2-4 campaign, but the Wolverines have assured it's been built back up.

At the forefront of the resurgence of culture and leadership has been third-year redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara, who took over the starting signal-caller job late last season and ran with it.

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Redshirt sophomore left tackle Ryan Hayes is in his fourth year on campus, and he's seen quite a bit. Never, he says, has he seen a Michigan quarterback lead a team more than McNamara is doing now.

"I haven’t seen a quarterback really take charge like he has," Hayes said Friday. "He’s really trying to lead — he’s putting that effort in — and he’s not afraid to tell you when you need something or you want something from your group."

McNamara, who completed 43 of his 71 pass attempts for 425 yards with five touchdowns and zero interceptions in 2020, could potentially — and amazingly — become the Wolverines' first quarterback under head coach Jim Harbaugh to be named a team captain this year, if his teammates vote him as such.

"At certain times in past years, people haven’t been doing necessarily what they needed to be doing in practices, but nobody’s really stepped into that role to get everyone together," Hayes said. "Different position groups have, but he really tries to get that whole offense going as a unit.

"I think he’s pretty natural at it; he’s good at it. People listen to him, so it’s been good for us."

Hayes, who is 'locked in' as the team's starting left tackle according to Harbaugh, believes the offensive line is progressing nicely, and that Sherrone Moore — who transitioned from coaching tight ends to leading the offensive line — has been a big boost.

"We’re definitely moving in the right direction," Hayes said. "Obviously, we’re not where we need to be yet. But this line, definitely, is coming together better than any line I’ve been a part of — this early in camp, I should say.

"People are just playing better than they ever have.

"[Moore] brings us together. He makes us play well. He gets on us when we need it, but he does it in the right way, where we respond and we respect him. He makes us play a lot harder.

Hayes chalks some of the improvement up to the experience plenty of guys were able to gain last season. It was a shortened year, but the Wolverines suffered injuries — younger linemen had to step in and step up.

While second-year freshman Zak Zinter has been described as potentially being the team's top offensive player, regardless of position, the strength of the group isn't one guy in particular, Hayes noted.

"We’re going to be a physical line, we’re going to play smart and we’re going to play together," he said.

Hayes said competition at several spots along the offensive line continue to rage on, and that he feels they're getting closer to figuring out who the best five linemen are, also adding that it's important to begin chemistry with the guy who will be playing next to him.

"You have to trust the person next to you; you’ve got to have that camaraderie, and I think that’s happening right now," he said.

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