dan villari

Michigan took a hit to the quarterback room this morning. Rivals is reporting, and MLive has confirmed, that Dan Villari is in the portal:

2020 3-star QB Dan Villari entered the transfer portal after playing in four games during his time with Michigan @MaizeBlueReview https://t.co/VT7Ql3kCdP

— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) January 6, 2022

Villari was Michigan’s late pickup when their 2020 quarterback JD Johnson had to medically retire, and the Wolverines couldn’t one-up Ohio State in the late pursuit of CJ Stroud. Johnson, by the way, still joined the program on a medical scholarship, and is also in the portal after getting cleared by a cardiologist in Cleveland to come back to football.

As for Villari, Michigan mostly used him in blowout situations to run zone reads, but he was easy to root for, and might have had a role as a QB/tank. He did get a redshirt this season so he will still have four years to play wherever he goes. He would have won.

Previously: The Story. Podcast 12.4A, 12.4B, 12.4C.

Uh… this is going to be shorter than usual. For the first time since 2009, when Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson were true freshmen, Michigan has nobody on the roster with meaningful playing time under their belt. Previous transitions featured part-time starters (Devin Gardner, Denard Robinson) or transfers (Jake Rudock, John O'Korn, Shea Patterson) with multiple years of starting experience.

Michigan returns 11 collegiate passing attempts after Dylan McCaffrey bolted for the exit. We did not even have the benefit of spring practice, and a spring game, this year. Virtually everything that follows will be speculation based on insider talk.

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT INSIDER TALK

Even in the best situations attempting to sift grains of truth from the stream of offseason insider chatter is a dodgy business. We have a few heuristics developed over the years:

• It's good when they talk about you when they don't need you. A player who gets talked up at a spot that is already strong is probably legit. For one, they're being compared to good players. For two, if a guy who's third on the depth chart isn't popping out nobody's going to make a big deal about it.
• If you are the starter by default you will get talked up. This is the Johnny Sears rule. Michigan lost Leon Hall to the NFL after the 2006 season and had no one on campus to pair with Morgan Trent except Sears. Sears got talked up all offseason, started one game, and got replaced by true freshman Donovan Warren.
• Mistakes are ignored. You will hear about the heroic leaping one-handed grab. You'll hear about the long touchdown ripped off. You will not hear about drops and fumbles and folks wandering off in the middle of the play to get a snack. (Unless Mike Onwenu did it, for some reason.)
• A lot of it is horseshit. Much of it gets relayed by amateurs watching from sideline level. Other bits get related by program veterans with an axe to grind. Some of it is leaked by coaches for reasons other than "is true."

Talk about Joe Milton that happened after McCaffrey's exit fails the starter by default test. Milton is an Uncle Rico quarterback who can throw it over a mountain and also failed to complete half his passes as a high school senior, so there's a fair chance a lot of mistakes are being ignored. And this was the chatter about Dylan McCaffrey entering last season:

24/7 reported that insiders assert McCaffrey "would be a starting quarterback at 'a ton' of other programs"; Rivals called him a "lock for two-time captain" and asserted he has "the 'it' factor."

I'm not saying that Milton is doomed. I am saying that this is a situation where insider talk is close to useless. And it's all we've got.

[After THE JUMP: how fast can a man carve himself into David?]

Previously: Last year's profiles. S Makari Paige, S RJ Moten, S Jordan Morant, CB Andre Seldon, CB Darion Green-Warren, CB Eamonn Dennis, VP William "Apache" Mohan, LB Nikhai Hill-Green, LB Kalel Mullings, LB Cornell Wheeler, LB Osman Savage, DE Aaron Lewis, DE Jaylen Harrell, DE Braiden McGregor, DT Kris Jenkins, OL Reece Atteberry, OL Zak Zinter, OL Jeffrey Persi, TE Matthew Hibner, WR Roman Wilson, WR AJ Henning, RB Blake Corum.

When JD Johnson was forced to retire from football due to a heart issue, Michigan found itself in a bad spot. These days quarterbacks go off the board earlier than any other position; pickings were slim. Anyone contemplating a flip from a secure situation was also looking down the barrel of a five-star 2021 QB commit. CJ Stroud was a highly rated dual-threat who was still uncommitted, but he went to Ohio State because that's how it works.

Enter Dan Villari, Fordham decommit and the #1225 player in the 24/7 composite. Here's your sleeper starter kit.

Michigan QB Signee Dan Villari Ready To Silence Critics

'Ultimate competitor': Dan Villari's unexpected journey to Michigan and desire to prove doubters wrong

You have now received your sleeper starter kit.

[After THE JUMP: scouting! no, not really]