In the wake of the Big Ten making its return for an abbreviated 2020 fall football season, Michigan has apparently received news that Dylan McCaffrey has played his last down in Ann Arbor.
Wednesday, Bruce Feldman reported that the redshirt junior will opt out of 2020 and instead seek a transfer for his two remaining seasons of eligibility.
The Michigan Insider first reported McCaffrey’s decision not to play earlier today with a team spokesperson telling Mlive.com that “the decision to play or opt-out on the 2020 season is something that we have left up to our student-athletes to communicate.”
McCaffrey’s decision may have not come out of the blue as rumors have suggested that he was in-line to once again be a backup this season after serving as such last season to Shea Patterson. Only this year, the competition was against redshirt sophomore Joe Milton who looks to have emerged as number one on the QB depth chart heading into October. Likewise, it was assumed that whoever did in fact come out as the runner-up for the vacant starting QB spot would be the one to opt-out and seek a transfer, and with that, it looks like McCaffrey is that guy.
We switched Milton for McCaffrey as our projected starter, which is no small feat. While it’s worth remembering that 1) these are projections without any firsthand glimpses of practices and 2) that we refuse to use any OR language in our projections, we still assert that Milton made a strong move in fall camp. Milton had an applied offseason, one full of tutoring, technique work, film work in addition to physical training. McCaffrey hasn’t been far off, but if Michigan were preparing to play this week, we project Milton would be the favorite to get the nod.
… One element that can’t be overlooked in this quarterback battle is that there have been no padded practices, and there have been slightly fewer team-on-team drills than a typical fall camp. Quarterbacks don’t get hit in practice, of course, but having to face a charging defensive front is one area where we felt McCaffrey might have the edge over Milton — who can make every throw in the playbook and holds his own athletically.
In two seasons as a backup in Ann Arbor, McCaffrey has completed 18 of 35 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 166 yards on 23 attempts and is currently the most experienced QB on Michigan’s roster something the Wolverines could miss if things start to go south for the Maize n’ Blue in a season where there’s little to no room for mistake.
As far as where McCaffrey could end up, that’s still yet to be determined, however, academically he is a senior and will be able to transfer with immediate eligibility.