Report: Joe Milton to the Portal
Well that was the worst spring position battle ever. Days before spring ball was set to begin, Joe Milton, Michigan’s starter last season until Cade McNamara’s virtuoso performance against Rutgers, will be putting his name in the portal soon, as first broken by Rivals’ Chris Balas($).
if it hasn't happened yet, it will soon — quarterback Joe Milton will be entering the transfer portal. The decision has been made, so barring a change of heart (which is not expected), it will be Cade McNamara and freshman JJ McCarthy battling for the starting job this spring.
…and echoed by numerous sources hence [UPDATE: Including the man himself].
I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for giving me that opportunity to come play for a program with lots of tradition. I have bonds with my brothers that will last forever, I have decided to enter the transfer portal As a Grad transfer with three years of eligibility. pic.twitter.com/PeANE2vWmD
— Joe milton #5 (@Qbjayy7) February 18, 2021
Milton, always a major X-factor, looked poised to finally deliver as a redshirt sophomore going into last year, and through the Minnesota game. But the rawness that made him a long-term project showed up as injuries to his offensive tackles, less explicable offensive breakdowns, and scoring holes put him in a lot of long positions. A lack of option reads in the offense also suggested Milton wasn’t making the right ones in practice. As mixed success turned into gigantic errors, backup McNamara got a few chances and capitalized, albeit mostly against Rutgers. Both were trying to play injured against Penn State, and neither was expected to be available if Michigan had been able to play a game after that.
Michigan will enter spring ball with two guys in contention, both with freshman eligibility, though McNamara has been on campus two years while 5-star challenger J.J. McCarthy was in high school last year. That high school was IMG Academy, so McCarthy should be ahead of most high schoolers, but no more familiar with the playbook or the speed and complexity of the college level. Since late 2020 pickup Dan Villari is the only other scholarship QB on the roster, Michigan will probably try to find some help in the transfer portal to bolster the depth chart.
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February 18th, 2021 at 1:53 PM ^
And then lose to OSU all four times? Can't have nice things man
February 18th, 2021 at 1:07 PM ^
This should totally change our recruiting focus on 2022. The article I read the other day on here is that we really aren’t in on much in 2022 because of McCarthy. Well, we need to be now. If a high profile 2022 kid comes in and redshirts his freshman year they could presumably start their redshirt soph year with one year playing behind him as long as he goes pro as a junior.
February 18th, 2021 at 1:50 PM ^
I was thinking about this the other day and it got me to ponder on the situation at OSU.
These guys just brought in the best QBs in their class 3-4 years in a row. No way all of those kids stay there right?
Kyle McCord, CJ Stroud, Quinn Ewers. Its a good problem for them to have, but It seems they will have transfers in the near future as well.
February 18th, 2021 at 1:14 PM ^
The way things were trending, Milton was likely on track to be QB3. I imagine he reached that conclusion as well. I don’t fault the kid at all for looking for a better opportunity. Here’s to a hard worker and a team leader
February 18th, 2021 at 1:22 PM ^
Joe-we hardly knew ya! Great physical skill set but needed to make better decisions with the ball and improve his accuracy. Probably best for both sides.
Good luck Joe!
February 18th, 2021 at 1:24 PM ^
Darn. I was eager to watch him fulfill the promise of his talent in maize & blue.
Good luck to him.
February 18th, 2021 at 1:29 PM ^
Harbaugh has managed the QB position about as well as zeppelin crews flew the Hindenburg, and that's been the one constant throughout his tenure. With the exception of Jake Rudock, they've all regressed under his tutelage and Rudock was a 5th year transfer who'd probably been largely molded while at Iowa.
I'm not going to pretend that I have the answers because Harbaugh has forgotten more about football then the whole comments section combined will ever learn, but even a plebe like me can see that something is broken and whatever he's doing isn't working And as long as QB coaching and/or recruiting stays this way there is a hard ceiling on the M football team and it's located below the top two B1G teams of any given year.
February 18th, 2021 at 2:11 PM ^
McDaniels certainly didn't do well with QBs. Hopefully Harbaugh can find whatever he used to do when he fixed Rudock.
February 18th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
Yep, Rudock, who many point to as a Harbaugh success, was successful largely because he was experienced enough to work his way through what he was being taught and still be effective.
Luck, the Harbaugh success story, had generational ability.
Seems like Jim is not making the QB position easy for his players. Only the ones with superior experience and/or talent can succeed.
Perhaps the explanation is as simplle as "Jim is a poor teacher of QBs". According to the eye test, he's certainly been a poor QB recruiter and developer while at Michigan.
February 19th, 2021 at 2:58 PM ^
Do you think this is because Harbaugh has lost his touch or is it partially at least, because he has surrendered to an offense that is out of his comfort zone and because of this also surrendered to QB coaches and recruiters built more to fir the new style of play?
Football, especially QB is grit and mental toughness, you cant teach that.
If a kid decides to transfer because they won't be the starter, well that is on them as much as it is on the program. Rudock was ridiculed for this very reason when he left Iowa - I remember reading a quote from a former team mate "I thought Jake had more fight in him". Well they saw it first hand when Jake fought them on the road!
As much as I was excited to see Dylan take over, his frame just wasn't there for the way he played in the B1G. Sacrificing your body I appreciate but you gotta take a hit. Shane knew this well and managed to avoid serious injury on his runs. That's why I feel they anointed Milton in the first place. Durability. Well that backfired too when he couldn't adapt to the touch and feel aspect of the game when under pressure or without the lead. In his own head kind of thing...
February 18th, 2021 at 1:29 PM ^
The QB whisperer myth gets more laughable by the day.
February 18th, 2021 at 7:38 PM ^
It was always gonna be hit or myth.
February 18th, 2021 at 1:31 PM ^
Oe noe, Joe.
February 18th, 2021 at 1:32 PM ^
Joe's departure means Harbaugh basically has no choice but to start Cade over JJ even if it's a close call or JJ seems better. If JJ gets the start, Cade will likely transfer, leaving us with exactly one viable QB (who also happens to be a true freshman). We should have 3 minimum. So your starter is Cade McNamara. Raback it.
February 18th, 2021 at 2:24 PM ^
Also, Jim will not start a freshman QB unless there is no other viable choice. Even Luck was a redshirt FR.
February 18th, 2021 at 1:56 PM ^
What QBs are in the transfer portal?
February 18th, 2021 at 2:04 PM ^
I will never laugh at any rival's roster management ever again.
February 18th, 2021 at 2:09 PM ^
I never had faith in Milton. Unlike most fans, I wanted Dylan to stay as the starter. He was better overall but the fanbase pined for the second string QB. Cade was clearly better. Now the only question is whether Cade or JJ will be the QB unless somehow Villari sneaks in.
February 18th, 2021 at 5:02 PM ^
Still have no idea how or why this blog and so many fans thought he was any more than garbage. Dude couldn't complete half his passes in high school. When it was announced Dylan would transfer and Joe would start I gave up hope for the season.
February 18th, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^
I hope this seals it for me, feel like ive said this before though, I will ignore and and all hype coming out of practice. All bullshit
February 18th, 2021 at 2:45 PM ^
What's funny is that I thought he was given the job in the Fall to avoid this from happening. I still love me some Joe, so I hope he can put it all together somewhere else.
February 18th, 2021 at 5:01 PM ^
I'd be pissed if I thought this was a loss. A school like Michigan giving a guy with sub 50% completion percentage a shot, and the starting spot over not one but likely two more talented QBs, and he transfers? Ok then. Have fun sucking elsewhere.
February 18th, 2021 at 5:13 PM ^
Thank goodness, Cade was great last year, Milton was terrible. If Milton was the starter against next year i'd be apoplectic. I have no idea how Milton got the starting job last year.
February 18th, 2021 at 7:39 PM ^
Is it too late to snag Rocky Lombardi?
February 18th, 2021 at 7:54 PM ^
I'll take the optimistic view on this. Milton transferring ends the temptation for Harbaugh to use him.
2020 Harbaugh isn't the same guy who benched Alex Smith for Colin Kaepernick, or stuck with Kaep when Smith was available again. 2015-2020 Harbaugh has shown a tendency to "stick with his guy." Sometimes that's been proven right (Rudock), and sometimes wrong (Patterson and the infinite regression).
At this point, with little football knowledge, I'm beyond pissed that we've have, maybe, 2 years of viable offense under Harbaugh (mid 2015 to mid 2016, and bits of 2018 and 2019).
Can't blame Milton for bailing. Good luck young man.
February 18th, 2021 at 11:12 PM ^
Thanks for the picks! Have a good one! Kisses babe.
February 19th, 2021 at 12:50 AM ^
I remember when QB Oh Noes! were celebrated on this blog.
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