With less than four weeks to go until Michigan opens its 2018 season in a marquee matchup with Notre Dame, the Wolverines still have yet to name a starting quarterback. While a decision is coming soon, Jim Harbaugh insists the competition remains wide open.
Harbaugh told reporters on Monday that he plans to name a starting QB “sooner rather than later,” but he also noted that the battle between Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson, redshirt sophomore Brandon Peters, graduate transfer Jeff George Jr., freshman Joe Milton and Dylan McCaffrey of the famous McCaffrey football family is still quite close.
“None of them have given in,” Harbaugh said, per ESPN’s Dan Murphy. “None of them have dropped off, so it rages on.”
Patterson, who transferred to Michigan last December from Ole Miss and was ruled eligible to play immediately, seems like the frontrunner to win the job. Peters is probably the next-best bet, as he took over as Michigan’s starter last November and played in five games.
Harbaugh did not put a timeline on making his decision, nor did he say whether he will announce the starter publicly ahead of the Sept. 1 season opener. He has not named a starting QB prior to the start of the season in any of his first three seasons at Michigan, so he will likely stick with that approach.
We have already heard how confident one of Michigan’s quarterbacks is that he can lead the team, and we’ll know soon enough if that confidence translates into him being the best man for the job.
