Hot Take: We don’t need a transfer portal QB

I think it’s some combination of (i)“he was only a three-star” bias, (ii) people watch NFL football and think a QB always needs to be an elite passer, (iii) bad memories of good defenses forcing Denard to beat them from the pocket, (iv) lack of faith that JH/S. Moore would sufficiently alter their schemes to capitalize on a run-first QB, (v) this whole “if he could pass then we’d have seen it by now” idea, (vi) and the fantasy of a portal savior.

There has to be a reason we haven't seen it...  The dual threats like him are normally better in one area than the other, and you generally know it right away.  The simple fact that Orji hasn't even tried to throw in two years says something on its own...

For me its the unknown. Maybe Orji or another QB on the roster will be great. But my hunch is that the current roster will be at Speight 2016/McNamara levels for next year if Michigan is lucky. And that might be good enough! But given that the schedule is so difficult next year, I'd prefer someone with some experience. 

Well technically he was our 3rd string qb this year.  So, yeah, not a ton of confidence at this point.  
 

But we need to grab a coaching staff from the portal before a qb. 

Orji has thrown one career pass! One! He may be a competent passer, but even if the staff is confident that he can pass, doesn't necessarily mean he can do it in a game against another team's starters (Joe Milton says hello).  

What I am FIRMLY OPPOSED to is intentionally throttling down the passing offense into something even more conservative next season... That's Kirk Ferentz or Pat Fitzgerald sh*t and it's a losing mentality when you decide to nuke yourself into just a one-dimensional running team.

It's one thing to find yourself in a situation where your QB is hurt or your running game is so dominant that you turn conservative in the moment because that's how you win that game; it's another to intentionally throttle down your offense going into the season because you're going to rely on your defense to win you games.

If anything, having a great defense should allow you to become more aggressive on offense because even if you turn the ball over and put them in a bad spot, they can hold and get you out of it.   

I watched the Egg Bowl and Mississippi State was a team devoid of both talent and coaching. To believe that's a referendum on Rogers – who has a career completion percentage of 69.3% on 1876 attempts with nearly a 4:1 TD/INT rate – labeling him an "inefficient system passer" is laughable.

And yes, I also watched Maryland throw away a golden chance to beat OSU and the brutal Taulia pick-six. But – and I cannot emphasize this enough – remember that this was Maryland against Ohio State; that they hung in with Ohio State in the Shoe is impressive on its own. Is it Taulia's fault that on the drive before Gattis pulled him on 4-and-1 from the 20 for the running QB and telegraphed an interior run that got stuffed? Or what about the year before when he went 26/36 for 293 and 2 tds and no ints against OSU in their 43-30 loss? Do you lay that at Taulia's feet as well?

And, to be honest, I trust last year's staff... but this staff could also look very different next year. Even if Harbaugh comes back, Minter may leave for the NFL and the defense could take a step back... that's not outside the realm of possibility. And while they didn't ask JJ to do a ton, the things they did ask JJ to do were high-level, high-difficulty throws... Asking Orji/Denegal/Davis to make the Roman post throw in the natty or Cornelius throw on third down against OSU is setting them up to fail, simply because they're not as talented or gifted as JJ was.