Transfer Numbers Sum Up Michigan’s QB Experience With Jim Harbaugh

Michigan quarterback Joe Milton entered the transfer portal on Thursday, signaling the end of his time as a Wolverine. Although he battled for the starting gig throughout 2020, the rising senior will search for opportunities elsewhere this spring.

In his official announcement he made sure to thank Jim Harbaugh for the time spent in Ann Arbor.

“I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for giving me that opportunity to come play for a program with lots of tradition,” Milton wrote in a statement on Twitter. “I have bonds with my brothers that will last forever, I have decided to enter the transfer portal as a Grad transfer with three years of eligibility.”

Despite Milton’s courteous goodbye, his departure from Michigan reveals a glaring problem with Harbaugh’s program. According to Dustin Schutte, all but one of the Wolverine’s starting quarterbacks has either transferred in or out during the head coach’s six year stint in Ann Arbor.

Milton joins Wilton Speight, Brandon Peters and Dylan McCaffrey as those that have left during Harbaugh’s tenure. Jake Rudock, John O’Korn and Shea Patterson are the starters that have transferred into Michigan over the last six years.

The only quarterback that started a game for the Wolverines and remains with the program is Cade McNamara, who played for the first time as a sophomore in 2020.

While the transfers out of Harbaugh’s program are the most concerning, those that have come in aren’t exactly a reason to applaud the 57-year-old head coach. The Wolverines have yet to fully develop a reliable quarterback recruit for the better part of the last decade. While that reflects poorly on the whole offensive coaching staff, it’s a condemnation of Harbaugh first.

Nonetheless, Michigan will stick by their head coach in 2021. Harbaugh signed an extension with the Wolverines this offseason, keeping him in Ann Arbor for the next five years.

However, if Harbaugh can’t turn around the program, or slow down the quarterback turnover, Michigan may feel the need to dump him earlier.

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