Tuttle waiver approved

Submitted by jmstranger on February 17th, 2024 at 7:39 PM

Josh Henschke confirms that Jack Tuttle will get another year of College Football eligibility. How do we feel about the QB position now? 

Confirming Jack Tuttle had his waiver approved by the NCAA. Run it back.

— Josh Henschke (@JoshHenschke) February 18, 2024

Bleed4Blue

February 17th, 2024 at 8:12 PM ^

Obviously we'd all love for Orji to light the world on fire, but Tuttle is definitely a good option to have. Michigan has shown they can win with average to above average QB play (21' cade, 22' Mccarthy) 

With Michigan already looking like a very clear run first team, an experienced QB who doesn't put the offense behind the sticks is a good pair. 

 

Hopefully we can just run the Triple Option with Orgi/Mullings/Edwards. 

Jordan2323

February 18th, 2024 at 10:52 AM ^

As long as Sherrone coaches the team and doesn’t publicly talk about improving the game for the student athletes (know his place) then the NCAA will leave Michigan alone. I’ve thought all along the SEC and the NCAA wanted Harbaugh gone as quick as he got there. Everything was always an obstacle for him. Luckily for us, he’s a stubborn jackhammer. 

907_UM Nanook

February 17th, 2024 at 8:35 PM ^

This is great news, I can see Tuttle & Orji splitting snaps all season. I was already leaning towards Denegal & Orji  but Tuttle has the benefit of 1 year starting at IU. And I'd expect he'll end up being the official "starter". 

Bo Harbaugh

February 17th, 2024 at 9:18 PM ^

Orji might be a Jalen Milroe like revelation, tank of a runner who can hit some down field shots when the defense creeps up to stop the run.

If not, we have 3 other high ceiling more traditional QB’s that can manage the game.

May the best man win.

with this defense, O-line and rb’s- UM still a tough out for any team.

jdemille9

February 17th, 2024 at 9:48 PM ^

3 high ceiling QB's? Clearly my definition of high ceiling is different than yours. 

Tuttle looks more like a high floor to me. Denegal is basically an unknown but nothing in his profile or limited action leads me to believe he's a high ceiling guy. Orji's running gives us some optionality but who knows how good a passer he can be. There's a reason he hasn't thrown a pass, even in garbage time. 

Davis could be a high ceiling but if he has to play in 2024 that would worry me a lot. Odds are he's  not the best QB right now. With three other guys 'ahead' of him, I really don't see Davis getting any meaningful snaps this year. Rolling with a true frosh QB is rarely a good idea, even JJ had to sit behind Cade for a year. 

IMO, which means nothing, Tuttle is likely our best option for 2024, Cade-like but with some mobility. Orji presents a nice change of pace for his package plays, but if he can pass well enough to not be one-dimensional it gives us a more dynamic offense. 

It will be interesting to see which way Sherrone goes, high floor in Tuttle or potentially high ceiling and a very tweaked offense for Orji. 

bighouseinmate

February 17th, 2024 at 9:39 PM ^

The potential of the offense just went up dramatically. Experience and maturity go a long way in directing the offense. 
 

I think the floor for next season just went from  7-5 up to maybe 10-2. If Tuttle plays very well Michigan could be looking at another b1g title and playoff run.

jdemille9

February 17th, 2024 at 9:52 PM ^

Even with an awful QB situation we were not losing 5 games. Maybe 4 but 5 seems a bit much.

Texas, Oregon and OSU are the best teams on the schedule, USC will probably have a solid offense but they have no D. Anyone else on the schedule we could just bully with our run game and probably still elite defense. 

Tuttle gives us a high floor QB, but I still think 8-4 is the floor regardless. 

bighouseinmate

February 17th, 2024 at 11:29 PM ^

Michigan wasn’t in any danger of an Iowa type of team on offense, but the qb position was going to be the biggest question mark there. Given the leadership the team was losing too I’d still say 7-5 was the floor with the four teams you mentioned and some inexplicable loss somewhere else. 
 

With Tuttle, the team has experienced mature leadership at the qb position. He’s not gonna be JJ by any stretch, but I’d bet he is better than Cade was in 21, where Michigan was 12-2 after the playoff. That’s why I’d give Michigan a floor now of 10-2. 

jdemille9

February 18th, 2024 at 10:11 AM ^

I'll give you Tuttle could be better than Cade was in '21 (at the very least we know Tuttle is far more mobile). But the thing that Cade had that Tuttle won't, was a good WR corps - Ronnie Bell, CJ and Roman Wilson. 

Tuttle will have some potential weapons at WR but nothing close to the '21 WR room. Outside of Morris and Morgan we have a lot of unknowns and none of them were highly rated recruits (like Wilson was).

CaliforniaNobody

February 17th, 2024 at 9:43 PM ^

I wondered why there was 0 talk about any QB transfers, I suppose this could be a reason? Another option isn't a bad thing, and he looked very solid when he played, for whatever that's worth. 

steviebrownfor…

February 18th, 2024 at 7:49 AM ^

Why would he leave? Lol

Unbelievably blessed to have been a part of and played with Team 144. Thankful to have so many new brothers and relationships that will last a lifetime. Michigan, I love you and no matter what’s next, I will continue to work as hard as I can for you. Go Blue 💙

This is from Jack's Twitter from about a month ago.

JonnyHintz

February 17th, 2024 at 11:25 PM ^

Not really. McCarthy going first or second round is more about McCarthy and his natural ability, not Michigan featuring him in the offense. It’s not going to move the needle for QBs. 
 

Top end QB transfers aren’t going to come to Michigan to throw the ball 20 times a game when they have offers from a bunch of other teams that throw it 30+. At the end of the day, these guys want to show what they can do and the best way to do that is by getting more reps on film. 

steviebrownfor…

February 18th, 2024 at 7:55 AM ^

This is just feelingsball.

The actual reason M won't be in it for top QB transfers is NIL.  Michigan hasn't traditionally spent the kind of money required to get a major QB transfer.  

If they they are willing to spend, Michigan provides a great platform to get to the NFL at any position.  Saying anything else is just wildly speculative.

Let me put it this way:  which QB transfer has Michigan pursued that came out and said Michigan doesn't throw the ball enough?

JonnyHintz

February 18th, 2024 at 8:12 AM ^

which QB transfer has Michigan pursued that came out and said Michigan doesn't throw the ball enough?
 

Which QB has come out and said why they didn’t choose any other school? What a weird statement. That doesn’t happen. 

 

It’s really obvious. It’s incredibly unlikely you find any established QB that wants to come to Michigan and throw the ball 20 times or fewer in this Michigan offense in 7 out of the 15 games we played this year like JJ did. 
 

QBs want to throw the ball. These guys are leaving to showcase their abilities to the NFL, they want to go somewhere that is going it let them sling the ball around. Can they get to the NFL at Michigan? Absolutely. Much like JJ, getting to the NFL is mostly about your individual abilities. But let’s not sit here and pretend like throwing for 4,000 yards and 35 TDs in a high octane offense isn’t allowing those guys to put that talent on display more than the Michigan offense. What does JJ look like as a draft prospect with another 150 pass attempts this year? Based on his averages that’s 4,338 yards vs 2,991. 32 TDs instead of 22. And picks only go up to 6. 4,338 yards 32 TDs and 6 picks and you’re possibly talking Heisman Trophy and QB1 in the draft. 
 

JJ is getting drafted high because he was a top QB prospect that had already displayed athleticism and elite arm traits. He has a natural ability to make high level throws and extend plays. He’s certainly not getting drafted high because of the Michigan offense. 

The Oracle 2

February 18th, 2024 at 12:07 PM ^

In every draft discussion about McCarthy, having played in the run-first Michigan offense is mentioned as creating questions about him, simply because he didn’t throw the ball nearly as much as the other top QBs. Michigan was very lucky someone with McCarthy’s talent agreed to come to the school, and a big reason he did might have been the chance to stick it to OSU, his dream school that rejected him. He was an outlier. As long as the offensive philosophy remains unchanged, the top QBs and WRs will continue to go elsewhere.

wavintheflag

February 18th, 2024 at 12:35 PM ^

Ok so #1 JJ is in every discussion about top QB draft status. #2 volume of throws is not that big of a deal. Just see Anthony Richardson last year for a quick example. #3 JJ was extremely “lucky” M pursued HIM. See it so often the other way around.  Of course he is an outlier. So is M football. #4 talking heads do super simple thoughts. Don’t mean you have to buy them. They were a great match which developed a top NFL pick together.

JonnyHintz

February 18th, 2024 at 2:52 PM ^

#1 Yes because he has natural abilities and skills that NFL teams covet. The questions around him are centered on the lack of reps and the reliance of Michigan on the running game. JJ is the reason JJ is getting drafted high, not the Michigan offense. For QBs who need that extra production to showcase their skills, Michigan is not an attractive option. For the guys who don’t need the additional production, they’re cemented among the best QBs in the nation and aren’t in the portal anyway. 
 

#2 Much like JJ, Richardson had a particular set of skills and measurables the NFL covets. 
 

#3 JJ was an elite prospect that could have gone basically anywhere he wanted. He would have been just fine without going to Michigan. And if we’re being honest, there’s a few schools he could have gone to where he would have lit up the stat sheet, put himself in New York for the Heisman and been in QB1 conversation.