Michigan passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton has a ton of talent to work with this year. It starts with junior quarterback transfer Shea Patterson, who earned the right to start Saturday night’s game at Notre Dame.

Patterson was on pace for 3,800 yards passing at Ole Miss last year before he got hurt, and he’s had a great camp. The combination was enough to get the nod from head coach Jim Harbaugh.

“Shea has shown in big games over the course of his short career that he can make plays … not that the other quarterbacks can’t make plays, but he offers just an ability to make the on schedule plays and the off schedule plays, and we’re excited to have that element in our offense,” passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton noted.

Experience was a big part of that, Hamilton confirmed. Patterson threw for 350 yards at Auburn last year, for example, and played well in several hostile environments.

Redshirt sophomore Brandon Peters, redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey and freshman Joe Milton also had their moments this fall. On Tuesday, fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich said McCaffrey and Milton, especially, had improved.

“It was an extremely close competition,” Hamilton said. “Coach Harbaugh talked throughout the offseason about the possibility of making that decision right up to game day at Notre Dame, that it would possibly take that long. The other guys showed tremendous growth from spring practice to training camp and played well, did a lot of good things, as well.

“Ultimately, Coach decided to go with Shea … but we feel like we have four candidates that are very qualified to go out and play a high level of football for us.”

It didn’t take long for Pattterson to learn the offense, Hamilton added. They’d seen on film what he could do and had ideas of how they would implement his skill set.

“It was just a matter of Shea developing some comfort in how we communicate our plays and getting a feel for the players around him,” he said.

The offense should look vastly different this year, he added, but not just because of Patterson’s addition.

“It’s not just the quarterback,” Hamilton said. “It’s the overall group of guys that we have. It’s always our goal to go out and feature our playmakers. We’ll see what that looks like on game day.”

NOTES

• Hamilton said he couldn’t name the backup, noting the depth chart hadn’t been established yet. “Coach Harbaugh would decide,” he said when asked who would be the No. 2 guy should Patterson go down.

Most believe it would be Peters.

“Brandon in particular having played in games last year has a better understanding of the urgency in which you have to make decisions in real games,” Hamilton said. “He has been consistent. He’s never stopped preparing. He’s a competitor, so of course he wants to be out there.

“If he ever had to get out there, I feel like he would go out and play at a high level.”

• Sophomore wide receiver Nico Collins has had a great camp and will be one of the go-to guys in the receiving corps.

“Oh wow. He’s made tremendous strides over the course of training camp,” Hamilton said. “To see that skill set, that production he’s had throughout training camp, we want to see that translate to game day. He’s a guy we’re excited to see, and he’ll have a ton of opportunities to make pays. We’re looking forward to it.”

• The tight ends have made huge strides, Hamilton said, and it’s not just a pair.

“I feel like we have one of the best tight ends groups in college football. Not just Sean McKeon and Zach Gentry, but Nick Eubanks can be a special player, too,” he said.

“We have guys that are versatile that can play without the ball at that position, but we do feel they can create matchup issues in the passing game, as well.”

• Hamilton praised Milton as one of “the most committed players in college football.” He’s wowed with his big arm, but he still has work to do.

“You can’t teach experience. With every practice, every meeting, every day he’s around our coaches and his teammates he gains a better understanding of what’s required to be a starting quarterback at a place like the University of Michigan,” Hamilton said. “He needs experience, just time on task, from top to bottom.”

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