Wolverines backup QB Cade McNamara out for injury

Michigan Wolverines backup quarterback Cade McNamara is predicted to miss out on games for a few weeks after sustaining a leg injury in last Saturday’s 59-0 triumph over the Connecticut Huskies. Wolverines veteran head coach Jim Harbaugh announced the news shortly after the game.

“Cade, unfortunately, his foot was caught in the ground and got hit in the side … probably going to be out for a few weeks. Not going to be a season-ending thing, I don’t think, but he’ll miss some time,” Harbaugh said.

A former starter, McNamara helped the Wolverines to the Big Ten championship last season with a 12-2 overall record and 8-1 against conference rivals. McNamara completed 210 out of 327 pass attempts for 2,576 yards. The now-senior QB also made 15 touchdowns and six interceptions as he wrapped up his second year in Michigan.

This year, McNamara lost the starter position to sophomore QB J.J. McCarthy after being bested in the first two games of the season. In the first game against the Colorado State Rams, McNamara recorded nine passes out of 18 attempts for 136 yards, while McCarthy had four out of four for 30 yards.

McNamara had played starter in Game 1 before the head coach switched to McCarthy in Game 2 in Hawaii. For McNamara, the decision was “pretty unusual”.

“I would definitely say it’s pretty unusual. It was kind of a thing I wasn’t expecting by the end of camp. I thought I had my best camp. I thought I put myself in a good position, and that was just the decision that Coach went with,” he said.

After trailing behind McNamara, McCarthy bounced back in Game 2 against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors with 11 out of 12 pass attempts for 229 yards, with McNamara being limited to four out of six for 26 yards.

The Wolverines also recently brought in three additional quarterbacks to the lineup—former Texas Tech Red Raiders Alan Bowman, freshman Alex Orji, and sophomore Davis Warren. According to ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren, Harbaugh was open to all options to consider a backup QB for McNamara.