Wolverine Watch: Gattis Goes Silent Count On Quarterbacks

Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis wants his players to be tough, focused, and unyielding. So Gattis set the tone on Thursday, in a Zoom call that provided both information and a strong stiff-arm.

Ask him about senior wideout Nico Collins, and Gattis waxes eloquently about the lanky weapon who can fill a Michigan passing game highlight reel. Ask him about Chris Evans, the returned-from-suspension running back, and Gattis goes into detail explaining the advantage of featuring a versatile, pass-catching back in his offense.

Ask him about his quarterbacks, and you’ll get as far as you would have against Lee Roy Selmon in an Oklahoma drill, circa 1975.

Many tried. All failed. Gattis could have been waterboarded, drizzled with honey and set upon by fire ants, or quarantined in Columbus without a mask, tobacco spit shield or earplugs, and he still wouldn’t say anything about his QBs.

He mentioned redshirt sophomore Joe Milton, redshirt junior Dylan McCaffrey and redshirt freshman Cade McNamara. But that was pretty much it, other than saying what he wouldn’t say about them.

“We lost our quarterback,” Gattis noted. “We’re nowhere near having a frontrunner. We were in a three-man competition coming into the spring, with Joe, Dylan and Cade. No one has got a competitive advantage…

“Every guy is equal. Every guy is going to get the opportunity to compete and lead this team. When we have that answer is when they’ll know. We haven’t even come close to starting that battle yet.”

Asked for a trait in each that fits particularly well in his offense, Gattis made an open-field move Barry Sanders could only hope to match.

“I don’t want to get into individual traits or call certain guys out, or do anything from that standpoint,” Gattis said. “But we’re excited about all three, and we look forward to continuing to develop those three guys.”

Michigan football is a fishbowl, and the QB represents the biggest, boldest, most colorful fish at any given time. That comes with both perks and pitfalls, like many have learned down through the years.

Tom Brady’s experience — clawing three years for a shot, then losing time as a senior to the next hotshot — almost broke him. Instead, it helped make him into the best that’s ever been.

Brian Griese kicked in a window at a local watering hole, and appeared done at Michigan. Next thing you know, he was kicking down the door for a national championship.

John Navarre took a secretive route out of Michigan’s facilities after games, avoiding the derision he drew in his early days at quarterback. That came before he led the Wolverines to a Big Ten title, the next-to-last U-M signal caller to do so.

The Big House shook when Scott Dreisbach lofted a 15-yard touchdown toss to Mercury Hayes as time expired on Michigan’s 18-17 win over Virginia in the 1995 season opener. Just moments earlier, the freshman QB heard boos echoing through the stadium, the Wolverines trailing 17-0 in the fourth quarter.

The following Monday — noting Michigan’s next game was at Illinois — an inquiring mind asked Dreisbach what it would be like facing a second straight hostile crowd.

The rookie QB burst out laughing.

It’s a tough gig, especially when a worldwide pandemic wipes out spring ball and the football season itself teeters on highly inaccurate modeling and the whims of a deadly virus.

Michigan sideline reporter Doug Karsch was around to witness all the highs and lows of the afore-mentioned U-M quarterbacks. He’s not terribly surprised to see Gattis putting Jack Nicholson to shame while resisting interrogation.

Gattis has a few good men, and that’s all you need to know — for now.

“There are a few things you can conclude,” Karsch said. “One is, they truly want it to be a battle for the position. They don’t want to show their hand at all. They probably don’t want anybody leaving. They want everybody there, and happy, and feeling like they have a legitimate chance.

“The McNamara inclusion is interesting. Josh Gattis said something when he got to Michigan. That was, McNamara was their No. 1 on their recruiting board at Alabama. Nick Saban wanted Cade McNamara, and Josh Gattis wanted Cade McNamara, so maybe we shouldn’t be so dismissive of him.

“I’ve learned my lesson in my career, covering all the way back to Brady and Griese and guys that, at one point, fans had counted out, that went on to have really good careers and successful seasons.”

Fans hadn’t necessarily counted McNamara out. They just hadn’t counted him in, yet. And while Milton possesses the build and the missile-launching arm, there’s only one Wolverine to hit double figures in game appearances, and that’s McCaffrey (13).

It’s no small deal, especially this season.

“Without spring ball, it’s going to be a sprint for who is the starter, whether that sprint starts in August or September, whether they don’t play a game until October, who knows?” Karsch mused. “You have to give the incumbent a bit of a leg up.

“Without spring practice or an extended fall practice — which we may or may not have — the guy that has played the most probably has the best chance to take the first snap.”

Gattis insisted nobody has a leg up, or even a toenail. But when he knows … well, you might not know then either. But you will soon enough, at least by October.

Maybe.

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