The latest twist in Michigan quarterback’s offseason saga came on Sunday afternoon, when transfer graduates Alan Bowman announced his intention to play Ann Arbor this fall.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound former Texas Tech starter will be able to play in the 2021 football season and has three more years of eligibility, presumably giving Michigan a stock fourth quarterback to help bolster the depth table . The move comes after Michigan lost quarterbacks Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton on the transfer portal in January and February, respectively, leaving Jim Harbaugh with just three stock quarterbacks on the list.

Harbaugh responded by stepping out and landing an experienced quarterback. A quick check of Bowman’s career stats – 5,260 passing yards and 33 touchdowns in 19 games – shows a seasoned quarterback who thrived in Texas Tech’s air raid system. It’s unclear if he enjoys similar success at Michigan, but his planned transfer signals the coaching staff’s desire to add a ready-to-play quarterback.

While McNamara won the starting position over Milton six games in the 2020 season, it’s important to point out that his experience has been limited. He only played important snaps in three games and had to come out of his first start with a shoulder injury.

Meanwhile, the other two quarterbacks currently on Michigan’s roster – Dan Villari and JJ McCarthy – have yet to play a wink. Villari will be a freshman in a red shirt this fall, but we haven’t heard from him from the coaching staff, while McCarthy – a five-star prospect in the recruiting class of 2021 – hasn’t. not proven at the college level.

Following: UM football dives into transfer portal for QB ready to play

A serious injury could leave Michigan in a disastrous straight to the most important position on the field.

Which makes Bowman’s addition so important. He’s fulfilling two Michigan needs at a time when he can least afford to risk the offensive end of the ball.

The move is likely to generate moans from die-hard Michigan footballers, some of whom have criticized Harbaugh for his poor quarterback development. Bowman will be the fourth transfer quarterback to join the roster since Harbaugh arrived in December 2014, a roster that includes Jake Rudock, John O’Korn and Shea Patterson and has largely eclipsed the quarterbacks Harbaugh recruited to leaving high school.

Brandon Peters, the four-star rookie in the 2017 class, got lost on the depth map and transferred to Illinois. Same thing with Dylan McCaffrey, who is heading to northern Colorado to play for dad. Now Milton – who lost his first job in the fall – is the latest to go.

Where, exactly, Bowman fits into the quarterback’s image remains unclear. But this we know: Harbaugh enjoys competing for the job and values ​​experience. He started the older and more experienced Rudock in 2015, developed Wilton Speight into a usable starter during the 2016 and 2017 seasons (before a serious injury forced Harbaugh to find another option), and handed over the keys to Patterson, the much-vaunted transfer from the University of Mississippi in 2018 and 2019. Last fall, during the abridged 2020 season, was the first time Harbaugh had to truly test the waters with his own recruited quarterback. and cultivated. And it didn’t go so well.

Which could explain Harbaugh’s apprehension as an important season approaches for him and the program, desperate for a turnaround that should start on the offensive side of the ball. Any good offense requires a stable and reliable leader at the quarterback position. And while Bowman isn’t that guy, maybe he could help get him out of someone else.

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