TE Erick All (Iowa): All is now a Hawkeye and might play second fiddle at tight end to Luke Lachey, but Iowa uses multiple tight ends on a regular basis, so he should get plenty of playing time. Last year’s second tight end was Lachey, who had 28 catches for 398 yards and 4 touchdowns behind Sam LaPorta, who is now with the Detroit Lions.
WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony is slotted in as a starting receiver for the Sooners this fall. He’s listed as a 6’1″, 192 lb. junior.
QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman is in a battle for the starting quarterback job at one of the “other” OSU schools.
OG Zach Carpenter (Indiana): Carpenter is a redshirt senior who is expected to start at center for the Hoosiers.
S Damani Dent (Charlotte): Dent is a 5’11”, 196 lb. redshirt freshman at Charlotte.
CB Darion Green-Warren (Nevada): Green-Warren is a redshirt sophomore who is expected to be a backup for the Wolfpack in 2023.
TE Louis Hansen (UConn): Hansen is expected to start for the Huskies at tight end this fall. He’s listed at 6’4″ and 238 pounds.
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Alan Bowman (image via MGoBlue)
Quarterback Alan Bowman has entered the transfer portal. Bowman came to Michigan from Texas Tech in 2020 after losing his starting job for the Red Raiders, and he has spent the last two seasons competing for the starting position, albeit losing out to Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy, not to mention walk-on Davis Warren, who also passed up Bowman. While it made sense to bring him in at the time, it always seemed a bit dubious since the expectation seemed to be clear that McCarthy would be the starter as soon as possible.
Bowman completed 6/7 passes for 60 yards and 1 touchdown this season as essentially the fourth-stringer behind McCarthy, McNamara, and Warren (though the third-string guy after McNamara got injured). Last season he was 2/4 for 9 yards and 1 interception.
The most interesting thing about Bowman is that he’s going into his seventh – and presumably final – season in 2023. He redshirted in 2017, lost a season to injury, and had the COVID year not count against him, so the odd rules of the NCAA are giving him seven years to play college football when it only takes many guys three years to get a degree.
I would expect the Texas native to end up somewhere closer to home outside the Power 5 conferences, perhaps somewhere like Rice or Tulsa or North Texas. He has thrown for 34 career touchdowns between Texas Tech and Michigan, so that’s a great deal of experience and overall success if you’re looking for a veteran quarterback.
Name: Alan Bowman Height: 6’4″ Weight: 205 lbs. High school: Grapevine (TX) Grapevine Position: Quarterback Class: Fifth year senior Jersey number: #15 Last year: I ranked Bowman #41a and said he would be a backup quarterback (LINK). He completed 2/4 passes for 9 yards and 1 touchdown. TTB Rating: N/A
Bowman graduated after three years at Texas Tech and transferred to Michigan for the 2021 season, I guess in the hopes of finding a starting role. Unfortunately for him, Cade McNamara proved to be a superior quarterback, and so did freshman J.J. McCarthy. Perhaps it’s just the poor quality of the Big 12 – or just a lack of reps – but I couldn’t help watching Bowman in his limited reps and thinking, “I can’t believe this guy used to be a starting quarterback.” He doesn’t have much arm strength and looks to be slow to process things at times.
Perhaps it’s just a lack of reps as the #3 or #4 quarterback, but Bowman looked worse in the spring game than walk-on Davis Warren. I think Bowman has moved down to the #4 spot, and it’s rare that the #4 guy spends much time on the field. Even the #3 guy in 2021 only played in blowout situations toward the end of games. Add in the possibility that Michigan uses freshman Alex Orji as a Wildcat/running quarterback, and Bowman’s snaps may dwindle even more.
Michigan’s defense won the day. The scoreboard says 38 points for Michigan, which is a good amount of points, but the Wolverines won the game with their defense. They held the Badgers to 43 total rushing yards, which is their lowest total since they had -26 yards against Northwestern in November 2015. Wisconsin’s leading rusher was freshman Braelon Allen, who ran 5 times for 19 yards. Those overall numbers were aided by -13 yards from backup quarterback Chase Wolf and -21 yards from starting quarterback Graham Mertz, who were sacked a total of 5 times. Wisconsin’s only real sustained success was a drive near the end of the first half when Mertz was 5/5 and threw a touchdown to wide receiver Chimere Dike.
Bowman has an interesting history. He marched into Texas Tech, completed a lot of passes, got injured some, and then felt like he was probably going to get replaced. So he decided to transfer, and he signed with Michigan. That’s an abbreviated history, but the point is that he is by far the most experienced option at quarterback for the Wolverines. He has thrown 33 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, and 713 total passes in his college career. Compare that to Michigan’s lone quarterback with college experience, Cade McNamara, who has 5 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and 71 pass attempts – literally 10% of the attempts that Bowman has.
Because that’s the case, one would think that Bowman would be a shoo-in for the starter’s job. In the words of Lee Corso: not so fast, my friend.
I believe Bowman is a decent quarterback, but McNamara has spent the past two years in this offensive system and working with these receivers. Jim Harbaugh recently said McNamara is the clear #1 quarterback going into fall camp. Could things change between now and September 4? Sure. Will they? I honestly don’t have any idea.
You might also notice that I have not yet ranked second-stringer J.J. McCarthy, so why is the third quarterback so high here at #41a?
Well, McNamara didn’t last long during his redshirt freshman season, hurting his shoulder almost immediately after usurping the starting job from Joe Milton. And McCarthy is a true freshman. Not only does Bowman provide a veteran presence and competition to the quarterback room, but he could find himself thrust into a prominent role even if he’s technically the third-stringer. Another injury to McNamara and/or some bumpy spots for a freshman could see Bowman taking snaps in Michigan Stadium.
The quarterback situation is perhaps the most intriguing story of the 2021 season for Michigan, outside of Jim Harbaugh’s job security. Bowman could be a Jake Rudock and start the entire season, or he might end up like John O’Korn and never really find his footing.
