Kyle Whittingham knew the question was coming and opted against a direct answer.
On the heels of a Michigan football win over Penn State, in which Tommy Carr took over at quarterback for Bryce Underwood
after the half to help engineer a rally on Saturday, Oct. 17, the U-M coach wouldn't commit to the freshman as the Wolverines' starter in a Week 8 matchup with defending College Football Playoff champion Indiana."Not prepared to say right now at this desk or this table what we're going to do going forward," he said. "I won't be able to describe [if it's his job, or an open competition] at all until we see the film, and I'll have a better answer on Monday in the press conference. As far as that, now I say that, we don't want to tip our hand to Indiana
necessarily."
That's fair enough, but let's not kid ourselves: Carr will start against the Hoosiers, who entered the weekend at No. 4 in the coaches poll before falling to No. 5 Ohio State.
How could he not? Carr impressed in his first under-pressure reps at Michigan (after some mop-up time against UTEP in Week 3). Against the Nittany Lions, Carr was 5-for-7 passing for 47 yards and ran four times for 36 yards, including a 12-yard TD on a speed option with three minutes to play − ultimately the winning TD.
There's this, too: Carr is a welcome step forward. He cannot, however, be seen as a savior.
Instead, for the Wolverines (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) to continue to claw out of the hole they've built, they will need to do much of what they finally did against the Nittany Lions. Like generating a season-high three turnovers, each of which directly led to a TD, including two that set up the offense with short fields.
Like continued improvement in the running game, which racked up a season-high 211 yards at 6 per carry. Finally, the Wolverines had explosive plays on the ground, highlighted by a 43-yard burst by Bryson Kuzdzal for the team's first touchdown soon after Carr's entrance, then another 41-yard explosion by freshman Savion Hiter when Michigan was backed up against its own end zone.
Carr will get the headlines and deservedly so − his poise and control is beyond that of someone a few months removed from high school − but those on the inside know this game was more than that.
"You forget he's a freshman some time, he spends a lot of time in the film room," tackle Blake Frazier said of Carr. "We trust him fully, but the defense getting those turnovers was massive as well, put us in great field position.
"Tommy is a great quarterback, he's got a bright future ahead of him, but this whole thing was a team deal."
Not to pour any cold water on Michigan's first happy Saturday in four weeks, but even the win contained a few areas of concern. Like how the defense allowed the best passer seen to date to zip it around for 267 yards. Like how the rushing game, despite its best performance of the year, should've done this, Carr or no Carr – PSU allowed 413 rushing yards to Northwestern earlier this month.
This is all to say: Carr is not a magic wand to wave away the problems that cost U-M its first two Big Ten games this season. There's reason for hope, at least, that he can have a positive impact, especially considering he played Saturday with some training wheels.
"The throw game is still not where it needs to be and that's something that's got to be a continuing point of emphasis," Whittingham said. "Right now, that's keeping us from being an explosive offense and the best offense that we can be."
Carr should be an improvement there. Each of his throws were clean against Penn State, as he made the proper decisions. His first throw to JJ Buchanan on a slant on snap one was a bullet for 11 yards. Later on the drive, he felt a corner blitz come off his front side and checked down to tight end Hogan Hansen, who rumbled for 22 yards in the longest pass play of the day.
Even his rollout to the right to find Buchanan a few plays before his rushing score was on the money. That said, his deep shot on a flea-flicker wasn't close, and he didn't have a connection more than 10 yards downfield through the air.
But that's fine. He did everything that could reasonably be asked of him when his number was called. That's commendable and bodes extremely well for the future − near and far.
Still, there are levels to this game. The Hoosiers, who held the explosive Buckeyes offense to just 19 points, will be among U-M's toughest tests. Carr will learn, but his teammates have confidence.
"Tommy is ready to lead and you saw that today," Kuzdzal said. "I've always seen him doing what he's supposed to be doing, [he] just did it on a bigger stage today."
Carr was a mid-level recruit committed to Miami of Ohio less than a year ago. He said he doesn't care about "stars" in recruiting rankings; instead, he has prepared like the starter since he arrived, earning praise for his time in the film room and a moxie most at his age don't have.
The fans have begged to see him. It seems there will be more of that to come soon.
Just remember, he's a freshman and, as we learned last season during Underwood's initial campaign, progress is not linear.
“At halftime they told me this was my time," Carr said. "I was prepared for this since week one. I prepared every day like I was the starter, got the call. There was a little bit of nerves, but I knew I was prepared and ready for this moment.”
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Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
Next up: Hoosiers
Matchup: Michigan (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) vs. No. 4 Indiana (6-1, 3-1).
Kickoff: Noon Saturday, Oct. 24; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.
TV/radio: Fox; WCSX-FM (94.7).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tommy Carr earned Michigan football QB job, but he needs help to win
