Jim Harbaugh not budging on quarterback battle: 'We'll let it play out'

Don't expect Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh to give any breaking news on the development of the quarterback battle between Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy.

To be fair, the Wolverines are only a few practices in and full pad days during fall camp are at a premium. However, Harbaugh does what he usually does when it comes to discussing his quarterbacks.

He plays it right down the middle.

"I think it's something that's going to be a competition," Harbaugh said on the latest episode of the In the Trenches podcast. "We'll all see it unfold. Both have been in the program for over a year, and that's typically what it takes to train a quarterback at this type of level in the Big Ten. Both will get the same number of reps with the first string as the other guy with the second string. It's cut right down the middle, and they're both really good.

"I'll give you an analogy, like a 100-meter race, you see one in practice, like, OK, he's pulling ahead. As soon as I sense that, I see the other guy surge by him, then the other one pulls up next to his shoulder. It's like they're getting faster, and they're getting better. There's nobody that's passing behind. It's like two irons, two swords that are sharpening. Iron sharpens iron, biblical, that's exactly what it looks like to me."

Harbaugh was asked when he would expect a clear number one to emerge. That day could be coming soon. Harbaugh says the two are in a very tight competition with both players making strides in their own regard.

The good thing for U-M, though, is that it's always good to have talent pushing each other and there's still plenty of time to figure things out.

"It could come eight, nine practices in," Harbaugh said. "In the past, that’s kind of when you really want to check. If it’s clear at that point, then we could have a true starter at that point. But it may not. It may go past that. Because they’re very close. I don’t think I could describe that ... one day, it’ll be Cade, the next day, it’ll be one or the other. Sometimes, it’s shifting within the same practice.

"We’ll let it play out. There are plenty of enough reps to go around. We’re always a high-rep practice team. We’ll see how it goes. There could be a clear starter by the first game, and that’s the way we’ll play it. They’re both really good; that’s a good thing for our team."