Jim Harbaugh Discusses New QB Coach Ben McDaniels, Freshman Cade McNamara
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh had both new quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels and Gary McNamara — the father of freshman quarterback Cade McNamara — as the guests on his podcast this week.
Harbaugh explained why he's so excited about McDaniels' promotion, along with how the younger McNamara is settling into life in Ann Arbor so far as an early enrollee:
Jim Harbaugh, on Ben McDaniels:
"Our receivers in 2017 were good, but I didn't think they developed enough. It was on my list to coach the wideouts better after the year, so we hired Jim McElwain, Ben McDaniels and Roy Roundtree.
"Ben did a great job for us this past season, and I didn't think there was anyone better we could have hired.
"We had talked about Ben in San Francisco in 2011, and that was actually when I first became aware of him.
"In 2014, I was watching Michigan play Rutgers and thought to myself how well the Scarlet Knights' offense was playing — I googled who was running their unit and found it was Ben.
"We're having so much fun as a staff lately. I'm bouncing between all the meetings, and am constantly seeing the quarterbacks wanting to learn more.
"The coaches' meetings are on fire right now — it's like firecrackers are going off in all parts of the room."
Ben McDaniels:
"I've been around here for the past year, and the quarterback room is an exciting one to be around.
"They have to be willing to work hard and put the time in mentally, and they all want to be great. The sky is the limit for a lot of the guys in that room.
"We're getting ready for spring ball now and putting in a lot of the new ideas that Josh Gattis is bringing in.
"You can tell how talented the coaches are in our meetings, because the conversations take off in so many directions.
"This is the perfect time of year to catch your breath and analyze the way we're teaching the kids.
"There are a million ways to teach something, but we have to find the best way to communicate it to the players."
Jim Harbaugh, on Cade McNamara:
"He's a very confident youngster because he works his butt off. He's here throwing every day — he was here Sunday morning at 9 AM, and if he doesn't have someone to throw with, he throws into nets.
"He's not uptight either. Cade is funny and loose, and his teammates really like him.
"He actually has the most yards and most career touchdowns in Nevada history.
"I was told this about him while we were recruiting him — from the time he started working with QB coach Jordan Palmer, he [Palmer] had never seen a quarterback who worked harder on his own than Cade did.
"I asked Shea Patterson the other day how Cade is doing, and he was very complimentary of him.
"Shea also noted how well Cade was throwing the ball, although he [Patterson] noted he's still a better athlete. I said that to Cade, and Cade started throwing out his own vertical jump numbers and had them down to the fraction of the inch."
Gary McNamara:
"Cade doesn't care about the numbers and the stats he won in high school. He took every trophy he ever won and keeps it in a corner in his room. He only keeps the Gatorade Player of the Year awards on display — he certainly doesn't play the game for the awards."
Gary McNamara:
"It was crystal clear after meeting with you [Harbaugh] for the first time how much you loved Michigan, and how much respect you have for the school and the coaches you played for. You didn't even need to say it, but it was crystal clear — I never got that sense anywhere else.
"Everyone talks about culture and family, but very few actually achieve it — you guys achieve it.
"I pray and thank God every day that Cade is there. [My wife] Nicole and I are genuinely happy for him that he's there and that he gets to do this."
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