Davis Warren v Alan Bowman
Was anyone else surprised to see Davis Warren first off the bench in relief of JJ? He looked fine, but I always thought that Alan Bowman was next on the depth chart (after McNamara, of course). I thought Bowman looked very sharp in his previous relief effort, and of course has a ton more experience. If this was an injury situation with both JJ and Cade out, who would be the next man up?
November 7th, 2022 at 11:10 AM ^
Dalan Wowman
November 7th, 2022 at 11:11 AM ^
I thought he looked good. Ready to anoint.
November 7th, 2022 at 1:23 PM ^
I thought everyone was excited by Orji.
November 7th, 2022 at 2:17 PM ^
I’ll take mine in the end zone, thank you
November 7th, 2022 at 11:13 AM ^
Skill set and practice performance would be a good guess.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:50 AM ^
It's striking how similar he looks to JJ in physical terms, and he can do a lot of the same things--such as designed runs--albeit not at JJ's level. I assume a big part of it is wanting a backup they can run all the same plays with
November 7th, 2022 at 4:23 PM ^
Even his face looks like JJ's (under the helmet). If he had #9, no one would know.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:14 AM ^
I think it's officially an "OR" situation at backup where they're currently both 2a/2b. I know Warren has impressed and has a couple more years of eligibility than Bowman (likely a starter candidate after JJ leaves) and so that could just be it. I don't think it's anything about what Bowman has/hasn't shown.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:22 AM ^
No it isn't an OR situation and hasn't been for several months.
November 7th, 2022 at 2:37 PM ^
Seems liked Davis Warren was ahead coming out of Spring ball. He looks sharp.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:16 PM ^
This was discussed a month ago. Warren is ahead of Bowman.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:15 AM ^
BENCH JJ!
I just wanted to be the first to say it! lol
November 7th, 2022 at 11:50 AM ^
You don't really mean it until you boo him at a live game
November 7th, 2022 at 12:08 PM ^
Brought a laugh.
I only boo refs, umps and the other team. Their colors, their mascot, their band, their coaches and of course their players.
November 7th, 2022 at 1:12 PM ^
Is this the new Fire Beilein/Fire Bakich rallying cry?
November 7th, 2022 at 5:46 PM ^
Ok, your the first patient on the gurney. Well, somebody had to start this,
November 7th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
There were rumblings back in training camp about him. But that was when everyone on the roster was a world beater.
The kid looked pretty good.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:09 PM ^
But that was when everyone on the roster was a world beater.
Those silly prognosticators probably thought we'd be 9-0 right now.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
From the early games where everyone played, I thought Warren was our clear #2. He would be starting for most other B1G teams.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:21 AM ^
Yeah, the consensus in the non-con was that Warren looked better than Bowman. I agree that he looks like the clear backup with Cade out.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:31 AM ^
If you want to get nitpicky, Warren looked better than Cade in the Hawaii game. But I know we’re talking about a very small sample size.
Not to pile on Cade because I love the kid and feel horrible for him.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:00 PM ^
This is true. The offense seemed to come alive again when Warren came in. Now granted, a lot of that is certainly due to style. For better or worse, a large part of our running game is designed to work better when the QB is an actual threat to run. When he's not--and Cade isn't a running threat--teams have learned to tee off on the RB. Warren is pretty mobile, so that opens the offense back up. But that doesn't explain Cade having the yips in the passing game--Warren came in and made crisp throws, albeit in garbage time--nor does it explain the OL seemingly forgetting how to pass block when, but only when, Cade is in the game...
November 8th, 2022 at 12:01 AM ^
The lack of clarity about Cade’s status is frustrating. When he first got hurt, Harbaugh said he’d be back in a few weeks. It’s been several weeks and Cade isn’t even dressing for games. If he’s somehow more seriously inured than originally thought, they should say so. Otherwise it kinda looks like he just checked out. That’s already the general impression most fans seem to have, and it’s unfortunate.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:17 AM ^
Davis has looked pretty good in the limited time he's seen. His skill set being more similar to JJ's might also be another reason?
November 7th, 2022 at 11:44 AM ^
This is why I think he has an edge over Bowman. Skillset wise, he's more similar to JJ than Bowman, which puts more of the offense we've designed around JJ on the table. That said if we get into playing a backup in meaningful minutes, I don't think Harbaugh would hesitate to switch between them if one guy wasn't getting it done.
If Cade is done by health/choice, I think you see Davis Warren up first to fill in for JJ.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:43 PM ^
Bingo. Warren fits what they have designed for JJ. Bowman was more of a fit for what was designed for Cade. If the QBs are of similar ability, it's probably best to go with the QB that fits the offense, rather than changing the offense for everyone else to fit the backup QB. Great decision in my opinion.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:19 AM ^
I think that Bowman would be the backup if there was an injury. Davis Warren's time makes sense as the "development backup"
November 7th, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^
Doubtful. Bowman hasn't played in at least six games, and has only played in a handful of games the past couple years. Yes he had starting experience before transferring here, but there has to be plenty of rust. If he truly was the guy to go in if JJ went down, he'd have been the first backup in. You're not skipping getting your backup some snaps just to get Warren developmental snaps.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:39 AM ^
Bowman is 6 for 7 passing this year for 80 yards - 5/6 in the CO St game, and 1/1 in the UConn game.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:20 AM ^
Ever since the Spring Game, I've thought Davis Warren should be the next guy up (barring Cade of course) since his game is the most similar to JJ's. Good arm and being mobile means we wouldn't change much schematically versus Cade or Bowman. I'd love if we could get a big lead on Nebraska or Illinois so he can get more playing time, as he's probably our #2 QB for the next year or two until Jadyn Davis gets here (barring an unexpected Orji on the depth chart).
November 7th, 2022 at 11:21 AM ^
Warren has been ahead of Bowman since the Spring game. Kid is a player.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:32 AM ^
I don't think this is true. Bowman played in CO St game and Warren did not. Then Warren played in the Hawaii game and Bowman did not. In the UConn game, where everyone played, I thought Bowman played first, but I may be mistaken about that - they both saw action.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:22 AM ^
God forbid that we ever need to answer the question.
This is total speculation as I know nothing and am not in the 10% of the fanbase that pays close attention to third string QBs, but I would guess that Bowman spends more time as a scout team QB, simulating our upcoming opponents, so in-game mop up duty is given to Warren, who presumably spends more time on our own offensive game plan.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^
Davis has been first man off the bench. He's QB2.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:34 AM ^
Not in the CO St game
November 7th, 2022 at 11:54 AM ^
lol ok. But in the Hawaii, UConn, and Rutgers games, he was first off the bench.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:52 PM ^
The made clear during the non-conference that the two were sharing 3rd QB role (now 2nd with Cade out). I believe the Rutgers games would be the first sign that Warren has passed Bowman.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:33 AM ^
Huh? I thought early season made it clear he's next man up after JJ/Cade. Bowman is a garbage man/warm body.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:07 PM ^
Did you see freshman Bowman before he got hurt?
Not just a warm body.
November 7th, 2022 at 11:59 AM ^
Two elite athletes. Maybe not as elite as most of us MGoBloggers, as comments seem to imply, but still good enough to play college ball.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:08 PM ^
Great point. Amazing how much talent we have at the QB position. What a turnaround from when Harbaugh took over.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:27 PM ^
What, no Orji in the end zone?
November 7th, 2022 at 12:41 PM ^
If JJ were to leave after 2023, I feel he is leading candidate to start in 2024 unless they went after a transfer. He is a walk on but I think he had some injuries in high school that hurt his scholarship chances. Seems like a walk on steal to me.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:41 PM ^
If I had to guess on Michigan's back up QB situation.
- Cade is out with an injury but could play if he had to. (if there was a long-term injury to the starter) That he is keeping his redshirt alive for transfer flexibility.
- Davis is in a similar boat, but Harbaugh puts him into games so he has some "tape" for his next stop. I think he is a Big Ten West quality starter.
- Bowman is ready to play if needed, that he came to Michigan to become a coach after his playing days. Most experience on the bench.
November 7th, 2022 at 1:24 PM ^
One of the weird things I see with the Cade talk is that everyone always brings up the B1G West. He's from NV and it would probably be in his best interest to leave the conference so that has no hanging comparissons or "noise" from other teams. He's good enough to play in any conference, but would guess he goes west coast.
November 7th, 2022 at 2:36 PM ^
He'd be a perfect fit at Iowa. However, if I'm Michigan I'm paying him any amount of money to keep him out of the Big 10. Dude has a book on every guy in camp in his head, guarantee it.
November 7th, 2022 at 2:52 PM ^
Eh, honestly I think that keeping Warren here (redshirting this year) as a functional backup/bridge between JJ and Jadyn Davis would be preferable to him transferring. That's an elite QB room until at least 2027.
November 8th, 2022 at 12:03 AM ^
If you’re right about Cade — big if — that’s not a great look for the team captain to basically just pack it up mid season because he got beat out. Finish out the season strong, then transfer. Like Jalen Hurts.
November 7th, 2022 at 12:43 PM ^
Not surprised given how he looked in mop up time early in the season. He can do a lot of the things JJ can so a better transition option as backup
November 7th, 2022 at 12:45 PM ^
I was expecting it to be Michael Barrett but he was probably tired from running back picks.