You’d think that it would certainly be difficult for the Michigan Wolverines to replace a talented quarterback like Devin Gardner, right? That is exactly what a lot of Big Blue fans thought, until they remembered that Jim Harbaugh was their head coach. On Monday, it was reported that the quarterback competition for the Wolverines was about to get stiffer than a James Bond martini.
The Detroit News reported that three new quarterbacks have enrolled at the university, giving the football team six total scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Of those six, three are freshman and two are transfers from other schools.
Jake Rudock is a graduate transfer from Iowa playing in his final year of eligibility. John O’Korn is also a transfer from Houston who is ineligibile to play in the fall due to NCAA regulations. Zach Gentry is a true freshman from New Mexico.
The three quarterbacks previously on the roster are junior Shane Morris, who has the most on-field experience of the returning Wolverines, redshirt freshman Wilton Speight, and early enrollee freshman Alex Matzone. All three participated in spring practice and Harbaugh stated that Morris has emerged as the starting quarterback.
This was a statement made after spring practice and before Harbaugh was slapped with an interesting dilemma. Do you start the quarterback who impressed you the most in the spring or do you start the guy that has the most experience of the six? That guy would be Rudock.
Rudock started two seasons at Iowa and last season threw for 2,436 yards, sixteen touchdowns, and five interceptions, all while leading the Hawkeyes to a 7-6 season with a loss to Tennesee in the TaxSlayer Bowl. These stats were much better than Gardner’s unimpressive 1816 yards, ten touchdowns, and fifteen interceptions in 2014.
The football season is just around the long summer corner, but the competition for the Wolverines will be enough to satisfy football fans everywhere. Well, those fans of Michigan and Coach Harbaugh’s pants at least.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
