In the Trenches: Weiss' Interest in Michigan Piqued by Trio of Talented QBs
4/15/2021 9:00:00 AM | Football, Features
In this week's edition of the "In the Trenches" podcast, Jon Jansen breaks down Saturday's scrimmage at the Big House before welcoming in new quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss to discuss his journey to Michigan, the Wolverines' quarterback room, his exposure to analytics and much more.
By Brian Boesch
Michigan's spring practices ended with a scrimmage on Saturday, marking the end of a whirlwind stretch for new quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss, who arrived in Ann Arbor on the eve of the first practice of the spring, and is still in the process of moving the rest of his family to the area.
Those circumstantial challenges, coupled with Weiss' fondness for a Baltimore Ravens organization with which he spent more than a decade, could have been enough to pass on the opportunity with the Wolverines. However, he elected to come to Michigan and take a high-profile position featuring a high-profile position battle.
"Obviously, it was hard to leave a great organization, great team, great head coach -- a team that, in my heart, I believe has a chance to win a Super Bowl next year," Weiss said on this week's episode of the "In the Trenches" podcast, at the 28:15 mark. "At the same time, it's the University of Michigan. It's Jim Harbaugh. Michigan wins. Jim wins. Both things are historically proven. I just felt like I had a chance to do something special here."
In addition to the prestige of and opportunity afforded at Michigan, the talent at quarterback piqued Weiss' interest. The New Haven, Conn., native said that the likes of Cade McNamara, Dan Villari, and J.J. McCarthy were "certainly a draw to come here."
So, what does Weiss think of the Wolverines' three scholarship quarterbacks?
On McNamara: "You can say he's not enough of this or not enough of that, but at the end of the day, he's really smart. He makes great decisions. He processes things very fast, and his accuracy and arm strength are more than enough to win with."
On Villari: "He has arm strength. He has mobility. I love working with him. He's a guy who, for sure, could develop into a really good player for us."
On McCarthy: "Arm strength, mobility, great athlete -- all that stuff is obvious as soon as you step on the field with him -- but I've been even more impressed with his approach to things. His maturity is far beyond his years."
The quarterback battle will continue for several months, potentially until the week of the season opener on Sept. 4 against Western Michigan. Until then, and even beyond, Weiss' goal is to find the happy medium between competition and camaraderie within the quarterback room.
"You want healthy competition," Weiss said. "Obviously, they're going to compete, but at the same time, they need to support each other."
"Hopefully, we'll get to where they all feel that way and we can have the best of both worlds."
