There's a brewing quarterback battle for Michigan in 2018 following former Ole Miss starting quarterback Shea Patterson's decision to transfer to the program. Patterson is expected to be immediately eligible, and many think he will take over as Michigan's starting quarterback as soon as he steps on campus.
Incumbent starter Brandon Peters took over that role halfway through this season and was expected to go into next season as the starter, but does not plan to transfer following Patterson's commitment.
Peters' father, David Peters, spoke with 247sports about the conversations he has had with head coach Jim Harbaugh about the future of Michigan's quarterback position since the Wolverines starting pursuing Patterson.
"Harbaugh was surprised I hadn't called him," David Peters said. "He said, 'there has been a lot out there about Shea for the past couple of weeks, and normally my phone would be blowing up with calls from parents asking what's going on. But I looked at my phone and it was crickets from you and Barb.' I told him that's not how we do things. First it's a player-coach relationship, not a parent-coach relationship. Then there is the fact that Michigan was going to have to get another quarterback anyway. If it wasn't Shea it was going to be a grad transfer. I told him, 'coach, we knew you had to go get another guy.
"Harbaugh told me that after looking at it they originally decided as a staff to pass on Shea. He pursued them initially and Harbaugh said that they decided they were happy with what they had. But then Wilton came in a week later and said he was going to transfer. That changed everything. So when they were able to they reached out to Patterson and told him they were interested in making it happen now.
"Harbaugh sat all of the quarterbacks down, Shea too, and told them it is going to be a competition. He said he didn't promise Shea anything other than an opportunity to win the job. Brandon is the guy. He is the starter. But when the spring (and fall) practice rolls around he is going to have to fight to keep that job. The other guys are going to have a chance to win the job. We're fine with that. As long as the competition is honest and fair, we're fine with it. We have no reason to believe it's not. Harbaugh has been honest and straight with us all the way through."
That competition is expected to be a three-way battle between Patterson, Peters, and redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey following Wilton Speight's decision to transfer.
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Peters appeared in five games this season, including four starts, passing for 486 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Patterson started the last few games of the 2016 season for Ole Miss and put up eye-popping numbers in the first seven games of this past season, throwing for 2,259 yards with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
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