jack tuttle

Previously: 2022’s profiles, K Adam Samaha, K James Turner (Tr), S Brandyn Hillman, CB DJ Waller, CB Cameron Calhoun, CB Jyaire Hill, HSP/LB Jason Hewlett, LB Hayden Moore, LB Semaj Bridgeman, LB Ernest Hausmann (Tr), OLB Breeon Ishmail, DE Aymeric Koumba, DE Enow Etta, DE Josaiah Stewart (Tr), DT Brooks Bahr, DT Cameron Brandt, DT Trey Pierce, OT Evan Link, OT Myles Hinton (Tr), OT LaDarius Henderson (Tr), OG Nathan Efobi, IOL Amir Herring, OC Drake Nugent (Tr), TE Deakon Tonielli, TE Zack Marshall, TE AJ Barner (Tr), WR Semaj Morgan, WR Fredrick Moore, WR Karmello English, RB Benjamin Hall, RB Cole Cabana, ATH Kendrick Bell, QB Jack Tuttle (Tr)

San Marcos (Mission Hills), CA – 6'4''/210
		Transfer Rankings
		247	3.03* As Fr: 4.46*	3*, 84, #57 QB #800 Ovr
		On3	2.95* As Fr: n/a	3*, 85, #74 QB not ranked
		Rivals	3.00* As Fr: 4.46*	3*, 5.6, #65 QB #851 Ovr
		ESPN	n/a As fr: 3.76*	n/a
		H.S. Composites
		247	0.9321, #167 Ovr, #8 PRO, #25 CA
		On3	92.55, #163 Ovr, #14 QB, #25 CA
		MGo	4.32*, #207/804 Ovr, #16/43 QBs
		YMRMFSPA
		Shea Patterson
Other Suitors:	Mizzou, Rutgers
Previously on MGoBlog:	Portal In by Alex, Spring game
Notes:	2018 Utah commit, IU 2019-'22
Film
My clips. HS highlights.

We're going to do this one a little differently, since Tuttle's pretty different. By rights we should be at the end of Tuttle's career right now, not writing up the piece that goes at the beginning. We'll make one-time exception here for a 7th year senior who was a backup at Indiana that transferred to be a backup at Michigan and probably wasn't expecting to get another year after that. Now eligible, Tuttle is in line to start for Michigan in 2024. So let's see what that looks like.

What's his story?

You mean how is he eligible? Here's a rundown:

• 2018: REDSHIRT at Utah.
• 2019: RS freshman at Indiana (5 games).
• 2020: COVID year at Indiana (3 games, 1 start)
• 2021: RS sophomore year at Indiana (7 games, 1 start)
• 2022: MEDSHIRT year at Indiana (1 game)
• 2023: RS junior year at Michigan (6 games)
• 2024: RS senior year at Michigan.

Tuttle was a 2018 prospect on Michigan's recruiting radar because they were the school hardest after Tuttle's Mission Hills teammate Chris Olave. The Wolverines ultimately got Joe Milton (and added transfer Shea Patterson) in that class, and Tuttle went to Utah. A four-star recruit, Tuttle was immediately in the mix to start, but was still third on the depth chart behind Snoop Huntley (now the Ravens backup) and Jason Shelley, a future FCS starter. Tuttle got frustrated and left the team in early October so he could enroll in time for winter classes at Indiana and be eligible in fall.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest]

Previously: The Story. 

QUARTERBACK: BEAT GEORGIA

GRADE: 5

Two years ago, Michigan won the Big Ten. Hooray! They returned their starting quarterback. Also hooray! But there was this guy, you know, who'd done this as a freshman:

JJ MCCARTHY

As always, hover over abbreviations for explanations.

Nine dead on throws in the rough equivalent of two games, just one Bad Read Xtreme, a +10 grade, excellent decisions at mesh points. Our charting for JJ McCarthy was not over the moon, but this was a true freshman getting spot duty. He wandered into games and out of them, never developing a rhythm but generally executing better than you'd expect. He flashed a crazy arm, and crazy legs. The people wanted him to win the job. The people did not expect him to win the job, because that never happens. Returning, championship QBs do not get deposed.

Then spring chatter turned into fall chatter and Jim Harbaugh announced that he'd be starting Cade McNamara in the opener and McCarthy in game two. Whether this was a genuine response to a tight competition or a way to ease a Big Ten champion starter out of his job will never be known, but McNamara bottled it and McCarthy turned in a 100% downfield success rating; Harbaugh announced the job was McCarthy's and never looked back.

The payoff was another Big Ten title, albeit one that once again leaned heavily on the ground game. Depending on your point of view, Michigan was either 127th or 5th in "run rate over expected," a metric that measures exactly what it sounds like. They finished 3rd nationally in yards per carry. If you squint you could argue that replacing McNamara was beside the point. And maybe it was, if Michigan's goal was to beat Ohio State and win the conference. It is not. Michigan's added a "Beat Georgia" drill to practice, and McCarthy is the guy who looked like he might be able to hang with the Bulldogs when Michigan got blasted in their CFP appearance two years ago.

Flipping to JJ is for this year, when his ceiling blows McNamara's out of the water. He's got to take a step forward. This is about how much of a step:

…the former top-25 recruit made the gamble pay off, winning his first 12 starts and finishing 16th in Total QBR.

Sixteenth is good, but is it national-title good? Over the past four seasons, the title-winning quarterback has averaged a 91.4 Total QBR, completing 72% of his passes at 14.2 yards per completion. McCarthy in 2022: 79.1 Total QBR, 65% completion rate, 13.1 yards per completion. He came up big in the last three games of the season (57% completion rate, but at 17.8 yards per completion). Was that a sign of things to come?

Well, Dude, we just don't know.

[After THE JUMP: salami]

I've been meaning to do a fall football bits for some time, but the roar of rumors on the insider sites has been strangely quiet this season, especially compared to the past couple seasons. Only now is there enough information that I could reasonably cobble together one of these pieces, but it still feels a bit light. Is that a function of a team with few pressing questions or some other factor? Not really sure. Regardless, we do have just enough information to put one of these pieces together and there will hopefully be one more round before the season starts. [Note: this is the offense football bits, defense is this afternoon]

Quarterback

What we want to hear: JJ McCarthy has transformed into a deity in the flesh, reading defenses better than ever, his deep ball right on the money, and ready to elevate himself into legitimate Heisman conversation. Jack Tuttle and Davis Warren have been engaged in a fierce battle for the backup job where the winner would legitimately start at half the other schools in the conference, and even Alexi Orji and Jayden Denegal look ready to play. 

What we're hearing: Not much at all to be honest. Can't say it's surprising with a returning starter, but descriptions of McCarthy's play have been rather hard to find, with some focus on the backup spots. Most of what we've gotten on JJ ranges from the hyperbolic (Harbaugh labeling him "generational") to the mild, including details about his performance at last weekend's scrimmage. One source called it merely good ($), another used higher praise ($). Make of that what you want. Most of the other chatter about the squad's valiant starting QB has been about intangibles, leadership, that sort of thing. Nothing terribly interesting. 

As for the backup position, there's been mixed signals here. It's between Jack Tuttle and Davis Warren, with Warren getting the extra reps at the scrimmage. Some have interpreted that as an indication that he's the clear QB2 ($), but reports earlier in camp were more favorable to Tuttle ($). When Sherrone Moore did a press conference last week, he gave no indication when asked specifically about Tuttle. Beyond those two, Denegal got a quick shoutout in one scrimmage summary but otherwise has mostly been absent in chatter. JJ was effusive in his praise of both Denegal and Alex Orji at a press conference early in camp, but that's mostly run of the mill from someone in McCarthy's position. 

I would be remiss not to note the real chatter about Alex Orji, which is his potential acumen as a kick returner??? There were rumblings in insider reporting about a "special way to use Orji" that could not be divulged as if it were a state secret, only for Harbaugh to come out and say it himself publicly: 

"Also a secret plan for Alex Orji,” Harbaugh said. “Got a chance to be maybe one of the greatest kick returners of all time. Big 230-235 pound guy, so he just started doing it, we’ll see how it goes"

Harbaugh followed it up by pouring a bit of cold water in saying, "we have to improve in our kickoff return blocking before I would agree to have Alex Orji returning the kick", but certainly something to keep an eye on. 

What it means: McCarthy is The Guy and it's impossible to know how many strides he's made until we see him in regulation games, even if there was more buzz than there is. Tuttle and Warren are probably running close to even for QB2 but perhaps a tilt or lean towards Warren. Denegal praise is probably more obligatory than anything else, while the Orji kick returning chatter is 50% something that might actually work and 50% Something Crazy That Jim Wants To Try (remember when they lined up Dylan McCaffrey in the slot to catch a screen?). 

[AFTER THE JUMP: less glamorous positions]