Michigan Football: What does Alan Bowman transfer mean for QB battle?

Michigan football landed Texas Tech’s Alan Bowman from the transfer portal on Sunday and that will shake up the quarterback battle this fall.

Michigan got some good news on Sunday and it wasn’t just the fact that it landed five-star cornerback Will Johnson. That was great in itself, but the Wolverines also picked up a big name from the transfer portal in Texas Tech’s Alan Bowman.

The former Red Raiders quarterback has started over the course of three seasons with Texas Tech and has thrown for over 4,200 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Jim Harbaugh has padded that quarterback room with the Bowman transfer, but it has some fans wondering what this means for the young guys already on the roster.

Does Bowman’s decision to transfer to Michigan mean that JJ McCarthy and Cade McNamara aren’t ready yet? Not at all, but it does mean that Harbaugh is playing the “better safe than sorry” card. He just lost two quarterbacks in Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton to the transfer portal and McCarthy is a true freshman while McNamara has played just a handful of games.

Harbaugh has learned from past mistakes of not having enough quality depth in the quarterback room that he can’t just move forward with a couple of young guys and expect everything to be great.

Sure, McCarthy could end up being the starter and he’s the most naturally talented quarterback Harbaugh has ever landed but he may not be ready to start from day one. McNamara showed signs of being a solid starter, but is he ready to be ‘the guy’ moving forward? Adding some depth and an veteran guy with three years of starting experience is the right move.

This just means that the quarterback battle this fall will truly bring the best quarterback to the surface. Whether that’s McCarthy as a true freshman, McNamara in year two or the veteran Bowman, Michigan will have some quality options.

Plus, Michigan was checking in on Jack Coan before he transferred to Notre Dame and Bowman is a better quarterback than the former Wisconsin passer by a mile, in my opinion.

This was a good move.