WATCH: Michigan QB Cade McNamara announces NIL deal with Ping
Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara led the Wolverines to one of their most successful seasons in quite some time last year. On Wednesday evening, he announced a NIL deal with Ping golf on his Twitter page.
Check out his video announcement below.
While McNamara’s stats won’t blow anyone away, he was efficient and effective for much of the 2021-2022 college football season. The Nevada native completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,576 passing yards, while throwing 15 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
He’ll have a fierce battle this offseason for the starting job with former IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) product J.J. McCarthy. McNamara was rated as the No. 11 quarterback in America for the 2019 recruiting class, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings. McCarthy was the No. 9 rated quarterback in America for the 2021 class, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings.
While many view McCarthy as the more gifted prospect of the two, he was dealing with arm soreness in the spring which cost him valuable reps in the competition. The Wolverines are lucky enough to have two talented options at their disposal.
Harbaugh on Michigan quarterback competition between McNamara and McCarthy
While McNamara started and mostly led the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff, many fans think McCarthy may be the better man for the job heading into his second season. McCarthy came in as the more highly touted prospect. He also flashed an athleticism in year one McNamara just doesn’t have. But for all his talent, McNamara was the lead guy on the most successful Michigan team of the Harbaugh era.
“I mean, I’m a Big Ten Championship winning starting quarterback. And that’s how I see it,” McNamara has said regarding the competition between he and McCarthy. He’s not wrong.
Harbaugh is leaving the door wide open for either guy. McNamara won’t have his name penciled in solely due to 2021 success. McCarthy is getting just as fair a shot to win the job. “The dynamic will be competitive,” Harbaugh claims. “Competitive but not combative,” he then clarified. At the end of the day, it’s about the “name on the front of the jersey,” per McNarama. These guys want the job, but they’ll support the other if it means a better chance to win.
Harbaugh doesn’t even know yet whether he’ll pick just one of them. Playing both guys at certain times last season led to a CFP berth. Perhaps they’ll just do the same thing again. Harbaugh vowed to play “the best player” — whoever that is in practice. However, there’s a shot he likes different things about each player enough to split time between them at quarterback.
On3’s Alex Weber also contributed to this article.