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Thursday, June 25, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS
Former greats,
future stars join
forces in all-QB
camp at Big House
By ZACH SHAW
Summer Managing Sports Editor
Jedd Fisch huddled his team
up. With a bit of the game under
its belt, Michigan’s passing game
coordinator was ready to push his
team to the next level.
It wasn’t enough to just throw
hard,
he
explained
to
the team. They
needed
to
be
selective,
pick
their spots and
find a way to
win.
“Let’s
get
creative,
we’re
quarterbacks!”
The
group
trotted back out
to the field. There were no receiv-
ers, linemen, pads or even foot-
balls, but the intensity was in full
bloom. These quarterbacks had a
dodgeball game to win.
Welcome to Quarterback U.
Michigan has been known for
years for its ability to produce suc-
cessful quarterbacks. Whether it’s
the versatility of Rick Leach and
John Wangler, the grit of Jim Har-
baugh, the precision of Elvis Grbac
and Todd Collins, the cannons of
Chad Henne and John Navarre
or the creativity and charisma of
Denard Robinson and Devin Gard-
ner, the Wolverines have been able
to turn productive quarterbacks
into professional athletes in each
of the past five decades. That’s no
coincidence.
It was also no coincidence that
such tradition was on display Sat-
urday, with many Michigan greats
on hand for the dodgeball, base-
ball and soccer festivities in Ann
Arbor’s
Aerial
Assault, a camp
dedicated solely
to quarterbacks.
But the inau-
gural
camp
wasn’t just fun
and games. The
A4 camp kicked
off the newest
era of Quarter-
back U, in which
Harbaugh
and
his staff will pull out every stop
imaginable to mix old school and
new school to concoct Michigan’s
greatest leader yet.
That mission began in a big way
Saturday, as the Michigan greats
were joined by 15 NFL quarter-
backs such as Jay Cutler and Greg
McElroy, “QB gurus” such as Ken
Mastrole and Dowell Loggains
and the Michigan coaching staff,
littered with coaches with NFL
and college experience.
“As many resources as you can
possibly have,” Harbaugh said.
And while outsiders — and maybe
a few campers — would laugh at the
idea of playing baseball or dodgeball
at a one-day camp for quarterbacks,
the games had as much of a point as
the fine-tuning or speeches about
the position — as Michigan has said
time and again that the most suc-
cessful quarterbacks are athletes
who can learn to lead at anything,
including other sports.
“You could tell some guys didn’t
really know how to throw a base-
ball,” said Collins, who led the
Wolverines in 1993 and 1994 before
a 15-year NFL career. “I played
three sports in high school and
most of us were multi-sport ath-
letes, but now there’s an increase
in specialization and most of these
guys are training year-round.
“You need to be athletic to play
quarterback.”
The campers also had to listen,
because
like
everything else
in his life, Har-
baugh made the
camp
a
com-
petition. In his
quest
for
the
new model of
Michigan quar-
terbacks,
any
dissenters were shown the door.
“Hopefully that doesn’t offend
anybody that this will be a com-
petitive environment,” he said. “I
hope everybody is OK with that.
Because if you’re not, guess what?
You’re playing the wrong position.
You’re literally playing the wrong
position if that’s an issue.
“You touch the ball every snap,
so it’s important that you learn to
win and do well. Most important-
ly, it’s important that you learn to
compete and you embrace it.”
Ultimately, Michigan four-star
2016 commit Brandon Peters suc-
ceeded in enough of the drills and
competitions to win the all-around
title. But the quest for a champion-
ship-caliber quarterback will rage
well beyond the camp.
That’s why Michigan’s roster
will boast at least 10 quarterbacks
in the fall — more than any team in
a power-five conference, because,
to Harbaugh, you can’t put a price
on a quality leader.
“While other positions don’t
put quite as much pressure on the
quarterback position, anybody can
tell you that’s played the position,
you should already know by now
that playing quarterback matters.
There’s a lot riding on it.”
Added Jack Harbaugh, who
was the quarterbacks coach when
Michigan
began
earning
the
label Quarterback U with Dennis
Franklin in 1972: “The quarter-
back position is like no other posi-
tion — there’s only one of you. You
have four defen-
sive backs, you
have three or
four linebackers,
you have four
defensive
line-
men, but there’s
only one quar-
terback.”
Saturday was
only the beginning of Michigan’s
quest, as the relentless recruiting
tactics of Harbaugh and his staff
won’t quit even if the results come.
The quarterback factory has
been remodeled, and the result is a
model unlike anything else in the
country. No other school has had a
camp like this, no other school has
Michigan’s history and no other
school has brought it all together
on one field before.
“If you’re a quarterback leav-
ing high school, where else do you
want to go to get to the NFL or
maximize your talent than here?”
Collins said. “I’m a little bit biased,
but there’s truth to it.”
Years from now, Quarterback
U graduates will litter the NFL.
They’ll have the arm of Henne,
the craftiness of Robinson, the
toughness of Collins, the fire of
Harbaugh and the desire to do
anything it takes to win, no matter
the level.
You can bet they’ll be damn
good at dodgeball, too. Welcome to
Quarterback U.
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
Michigan and NFL greats were on hand as coaches at Saturday’s “Ann Arbor Aerial Assault,” held at Michigan Stadium.
‘Quarterback U’ begins new
stage at inaugural A4 camp
“Where else
do you want to
go to get to the
NFL?”
“This will be
a competitive
environment.”