Tommy Carr is not the problem.
His offensive coordinator is.
Kyle Whittingham knows it. Everyone in Michigan Stadium knew it Saturday, Oct. 24, when Michigan football had a chance to beat the defending College Football Playoff champions and blew it.
Oh, Whittingham didn't want to single out Jason Beck after the Hoosiers held the Wolverines without a touchdown and beat them in overtime, 13-6, in Ann Arbor. In fact, he defended his offensive coordinator, pointing out the success Beck had running Utah's offense last season, and the success he had at New Mexico the year before.
Rich Rodriguez had success orchestrating offense in West Virginia before he came to Ann Arbor. Which is to say: History is helpful; it's not everything.
Not when a coach is clearly
struggling to connect the talent on his roster to the schemes in his playbook. That was evident again Saturday at the Big House, despite a change in quarterback.
So, I'll say it again:
Tommy Carr is not the problem.
Whittingham agreed.
"This is on the coaches. ... We gotta do a better job," he said.
Good for Whittingham for saying it. Now he must find a way to do something about it. Because as Whittingham also said, he is responsible for it all.
Like the ridiculous third-down call early in the third quarter, when the Wolverines lined up at Indiana's 1. They trailed 6-0, had moved 74 yards, and were a run play – or two – away from taking the lead.
Inexplicably, Beck called for a pass. Not just any pass, though, but a slow-developing play-action pass that called for Carr to fake a handoff with his back to the defense, turn to his left, roll right, and loft the ball to Manuel Beigel, an extra offensive lineman who'd declared his pass-catching eligibility to the officials.
The Hoosiers defensive line sussed out the fake immediately, and while Carr could've done a better job selling it, Beck could've done a better job understanding Carr might struggle selling it under the circumstances.
Or, and hear me out, that he might have done a better job understanding that discipline and fundamentals were the foundational pieces to IU coach Curt Cignetti's rapid rise, and that using a quarterback making his first start to fool the edge in that moment was foolhardy.
Whittingham, again, to his credit, acknowledged the obvious – hey, some coaches prefer to gaslight – and said:
"That was not a good football call. No, that was not a good call at that point in time. 'Do I have the ability to overrule?' I can overrule anything in the whole program. ... It circles back to me."
Clearly, there is too much circling in Ann Arbor, most notably in the run game, but often in the pass game, where Beck has been prone to call for plays that ask the offense to get out wide, instead of sticking with a more direct approach.
That third-down call was the latest and most unfortunate example. Not only did the offense not advance, it fell back; Carr was sacked for 13 yards. And when Trey Butkowski missed the 32-yard field goal?
U-M missed its best chance at the upset. Or so it seemed at the time.
Even though the Wolverines later tied the game and got to overtime (after they had the chance to win from the 3-yard line before they kicked the tying field goal after another sack), that early third quarter goal-line whiff – the play call, not the field goal try – changed the vibe.
"It was a very disappointing outcome and a call that I know Jason [Beck] wishes he had back because it really was damaging," said Whittingham.
Convert and who knows where it leads? Not just on the scoreboard at that moment, but in the mind of the freshman quarterback.
Carr, 19, got the start Saturday in part because of his unflappability. He is, said his coach, mature beyond his years, which is another way of saying he can handle the pressure.
And he did, for the most part.
He'd like a few throws back, no doubt, and surely a few decisions. Twice, he tried to get the ball to a place it had no business being. Once on a pitchout that went the wrong way after he called the improper play in the huddle (a miscommunication, said Whittingham). And once when he flung a pass into quadruple coverage and it bounced up and into the arms of a Hoosier defender.
The two turnovers led to two field goals, and those points were the difference in the game.
"Both turnovers, on me," Carr said. "Get in the film room, work it out, try and get better."
The youngster keeps his sentences short and his descriptions shorter in public, which is probably a good thing as he finds his way. Don't confuse his quiet deflection at the dais with his demeanor on the field, though. There, the makings of a quarterback are easier to spot, as calm and confidence usually are.
Carr went 20-for-32 for 167 yards and, as mentioned, no touchdowns. Not a shooting star debut, but not the worst considering the opponent, and the struggle of his coordinator.
Whether the freshman can drop back and drop it into NFL windows is hard to say; he hasn't been asked to do that yet. But he dropped back a few times and went through his progressions, and either threw it away, dumped it off underneath, or took off and gained a few yards as the pocket collapsed.
In the pocket, the small things matter as much as the splashy things. Which is to say he doesn't just have the temperament of a quarterback; he has the makings of one, and he flashed that more than once Saturday. He'll have to prove he can play-make more as the rest of the season unfolds, and he'll need more help from the coaching staff to do it.
As Whittingham said, the coaches aren't doing their best work at the moment, and that has to change.
Meanwhile, they may have found a quarterback.
"We're still high on Tommy," said Whittingham. "We think he's going to get better and better."
It's up to them to make sure he does.
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Next up: Scarlet Knights
Matchup: Michigan (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) at Rutgers (2-5, 1-3).
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31; SHI Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey.
TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WCSX-FM (94.7).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tommy Carr is not the problem for Michigan and that's on Kyle Whittingham
