When John Navarre arrived in Ann Arbor, he had company at his position. As his career progressed, Navarre forced Andy Mignery to try something new – tight end. In recruiting two signal-callers this year, U-M is looking to buck a 20-year trend …

2003 – Sam Keller and Clayton Richard

Keller was the No. 9 pro-style quarterback in the class, and as the son of a former Wolverine – Mike was a three-year starter on the defensive line for Bo Schembechler from 1969-71 – seemed a perfect fit for the Maize and Blue. However, when Richard made a verbal commitment in November, Keller quickly backed off his pledge, re-opening his recruitment. He signed with ASU, spent three seasons in Tempe and then transferred to Nebraska for his senior year.

Richard, the No. 4 pro-style quarterback and the No. 71 player nationally, never panned out at Michigan, leaving the program after his redshirt freshman campaign to concentrate on a blossoming baseball career. Currently pitching for the Chicago White Sox's Double-A farm team, Richard is 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA in five starts.

Navarre and Mignery arrived in Ann Arbor with similar credentials and similar opportunity – believed to be none after signing with the Wolverines one year following phenom Drew Henson. However, each would make their mark at Michigan in his own way.

The competition for snaps at quarterback endured for three seasons between the two classmates, but Navarre emerged the leader during the 2000 season, filling in for Henson in each of the first four games. Mignery gave it one more shot in 2001, attempting to beat out Navarre for the starting job, but with little prospect of overtaking the Cudahy, Wisc., native, Mignery began the transition to tight end.

In two seasons as a pass catcher, Mignery finished with five grabs for 73 yards and two touchdowns while starting eight games. Navarre was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Maize and Blue, finishing with 9,254 yards and 72 touchdowns while completing 56.0 percent of his passes. He was 31-11 as a starter.

In another era, Johnson might have been great under center, but the dual-threat athlete arrived at a time when Michigan was firmly committed to the drop-back passer. The No. 5 athlete nationally coming out of Orchard Lake St. Mary's, Johnson spent just two seasons trying to learn the quarterback position before making the move to safety and then to receiver.

As a receiver, Johnson played a small but consistent role in each of his final two seasons, finishing with double-digit grabs in both 1998 and 1999. He scored touchdowns against Arkansas in the 1999 Citrus Bowl and in a 21-16 win at Wisconsin the following year.

Brady, the No. 6 pro-style quarterback nationally, struggled to break into the lineup in his first few seasons and was devastated he lost the starting role in 1997. In 1998 and 1999, he earned the No. 1 assignment but constantly had to fend off Henson. Still, in two seasons as a starter, he put together solid numbers, concluding his career with 5,351 yards passing and 35 touchdowns.

As classmates, the pecking order was clear – Loeffler, a full-scholarship quarterback, took precedence over the recruited walk-on. However, Griese would become a starter while Loeffler, plagued by injuries throughout his career, was never afforded the opportunity to realize his potential.

After stepping in for the injured Scott Dreisbach in 1995, Griese re-assumed a back-up role as a junior, but proved to be the most capable in fall camp as a senior to earn the starting nod in 1997. The rest is history. The Rose Bowl MVP led Michigan to 12 straight victories, completing 62.9 percent of his attempts for 2,293 yards and 17 touchdowns with only six interceptions. To this day, it remains among the most efficient campaigns ever by a U-M signal-caller.

1991 – Jason Carr, Craig Randall and Jay Riemersma

Carr (Lloyd's son) carried with him the fewest expectations but, ironically, had the most career pass attempts with 24. That's 10 more than Riemersma totaled and 24 more than Randall, who departed prior to the 1992 season.

After redshirting, Riemersma spent two seasons trying to beat out Todd Collins for playing time, but could not. He made the transition to tight end before his junior year and wound up impacting significantly at the position. In fact, it's fair to include Riemersma in the discussion of U-M's best tight ends of the past 20 years. In two seasons there, he made 74 receptions for 706 yards and three scores.

Carr was a career backup.

A high school All-American out of Walpole, Mass., Collins expected some competition from Holdren, the Washington Player of the Year in 1989. He got very little as Holdren made the move to linebacker before the 1991 season. In two seasons as a backup defender, the Richland, Wash., native recorded 31 tackles.

Collins took over for Elvis Grbac as Michigan's full-time starter in 1993 and in two years under center, plus a few games in both 1991 and 1992, threw for 5,858 yards and 37 touchdowns while completing 64.3 percent of his passes to rank first all-time in U-M's career annals.