Although he isn’t part of the starting quarterback conversation at the moment, will that change for Jadyn Davis this season?
We’re less than a week away from the regular season and Michigan still hasn’t named their starting quarterback. Names such as Alex Orji, Davis Warren, and Jack Tuttle have multiple years with the Wolverines and have been in the discussion this offseason for QB1 duties. However, there’s a true freshman in Jadyn Davis who could factor into the conversation sooner rather than later.
Davis, who’s 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, was ranked as the No. 93 overall player in the 2024 class and No. 7 quarterback. As a senior at Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina, Davis threw for 3,370 yards with 43 passing touchdowns and three rushing scores.
Davis might be a true freshman but he’s already been around the team since the beginning of the calendar year. As an early enrolee, Davis practiced with the Michigan team during their preparations for the Rose Bowl and CFP National Championship Game.
Former Michigan running back Blake Corum spoke highly of Davis back in December saying “he’s going to be special” while comparing him to former Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy.
“As a quarterback, you need to be a leader on the team. You need to be the field general just like J.J. is, and I see that in Davis,” Corum said.
Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore also compared Davis to McCarthy back in April.
“He kind of has that factor to him, he has a little bit of that J.J.,” Moore said . “He’s a young guy and guys gravitate toward him. He’s a leader. He’s always here. Always in here.”
Davis benefited greatly by being around McCarthy during the Rose Bowl and National Championship. Those memories of practicing with McCarthy have stayed with Davis this offseason.
“Like, 9 was preparing for the biggest games of his life, and every chance he got to coach me, he made sure I knew what I was doing,” Davis said in April. “Made sure that I never got too high, never got too low and just stayed even mellow. Some of his techniques I even use in my game now, too.”
While there are high hopes for Davis at Michigan, there’s no rush to get him on the field too early if he’s not ready. Jack Tuttle, Alex Orji, Davis Warren, and Jayden Denegal all were ahead of Davis on the depth chart when spring ball began. Adjusting to the speed of the collegiate game at a Big Ten level and learning a new playbook doesn’t happen overnight. Although Davis is just getting started in Ann Arbor, he’s already showing flashes of what he can become. He’s a playmaker.
“Jadyn Davis, dude just makes plays every time he’s in the game,” Sherrone Moore said at Big Ten Media Day. “This spring he did a really good job of handling things, still learning the playbook, still learning the game, and adjusting.”
It is hard to tell how much Davis, the 2022-23 Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year, will see the field this season. How Michigan’s season progresses in the win-loss columns will influence his playing time, as will the play of Michigan’s other quarterbacks and how quickly Davis is completely comfortable commanding Michigan’s offense.
If Davis has the it-factor like McCarthy, the dual-threat quarterback should see the field. McCarthy came in often as a true freshman in 2021 when Cade McNamara was Michigan’s starter. McCarthy threw for 516 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions in his freshman campaign with 124 yards rushing and two rushing scores.
Whether it’s this year or 2025, at some point Davis will have to see the field if Michigan believes he’s a special talent. The training wheels have to come off to see how a player handles things at full speed, and when that happens it’ll be an exciting moment for Davis and the Wolverines.