ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Anticipation and hope for Michigan football this week has been high — perhaps higher than it’s been all season — with Tommy Carr expected to start at quarterback for the Wolverines against Indiana. But that will be a huge challenge compared to coming in for the second half against Penn State.
Fox Sports analyst Matt Leinart knows a little something about high-pressure situations, having been the starting quarterback (and Heisman Trophy winner) at USC. And he’s excited to see what Carr is able to do against the Hoosiers, as well as how much the offense transforms.
WolverinesWire was among a small gaggle of reporters who caught up with Leinart on the Fox Big Noon Kickoff set. Here is everything Leinart had to say about the challenges Carr is facing, what he expects from Michigan football vs. Indiana, and more.
You can watch the video or read the full transcript below.
Do you remember your first start in college?
First start in college. Yeah, the first start was at Auburn. And we were preseason like nine or ten, they were preseason like three or four.It was when they had Jason Campbell, they had Cadillac, Ronnie Brown, they were nice. And I'll never, I have a funny story. So I get named the starter, and that week on, I think ESPN Magazine was still a big thing. On the cover was their two starting linebackers. It was Carlos Dansby, who I ended up playing with in Arizona, and Dontarius Thomas, I think was his name. And they were just two All-Americans, and it was like this super intimidating thing.And I'm like, dang, I gotta go on the road, play against this. They had Carlos Rogers, who was like a first round draft pick.
But yeah, but it was great. My first pass ever was a touchdown to Mike Williams, which is kind of cool. But yeah, man, it's exciting. It's obviously with Carr, it's exciting. There's butterflies, there's nerves, there's all of that, I would imagine. That's like, shoot, I would get nerves even when I was a fifth year senior. But for him to finally get a shot as a freshman, and obviously played last week a bunch, but it's exciting. And then to do it against one of the best teams in the country makes it even more interesting.
If you're a coach, how do you prep a first time starter to practice that week? What do you tell them?
Yeah, he's obviously been getting tons of reps throughout the summer and fall as the backup. And I think that the most important thing is, and Kyle — I mean, these guys have been around, they're great coaches, right? They've been around a long time. So the most important thing I would always say is find out what they're super comfortable with, what they like.
Obviously with someone like — he's really smart. He's gonna be able to handle a lot. He just will, because he's got that acumen, he's got that kind of DNA. But go in with a game plan saying, hey, what are you most comfortable? I mean, they used to talk to us about that in the NFL. What do you love throwing? What are your favorite plays? What do you like to do on third down? We wanna run the ball with you. And it's that communication between a coach, a quarterback coach, an offensive coordinator, and a quarterback. To go in so that he has the most confidence in the plays. Hey, this drive starter, do we like this play?
When you have communication, even though if you're a freshman or senior, that's gonna give him a lot of confidence going in, knowing what's gonna kind of be called. And then go out and executing that. Obviously, like I said, this game is challenging because Indiana's really good and their defensive line is really, I mean, saw what they did to Ohio State last week. It's really insane, and just, they were getting after him.So that will be a challenge, but I'm excited for them, and it's a big game. I mean, in Michigan, I think it's gonna be really close.
Why do you think that the offense was able to move? I mean, he only attempted seven passes. Why do you think the offense was able to explode?
Yeah, I mean, look, when you look at Bryce, it's just — Bryce is super young still, and he's really talented, right? But there are, there's just limitations when you watch the film. And the growth, I don't think, was there week to week. And that doesn't mean that it can't happen. And obviously, I root for all these quarterbacks to go and play well. But I think with Tommy, he's — you just kinda saw a little bit of more fluidity and just consistency. You didn't have to throw that ball. But even the design run plays, too, he can run and he can move. And I think just, I would say just probably a better natural thrower, right? And I think you can kinda do more with that when you have a quarterback in there that you probably feel more confident just passing the football. Or at least, let's see what he can do, right? You've seen it in practice, you've seen it all summer.
And look, these coaches, they get paid a lot of money. They understand what each strength the players have and what their limitations are. So I would imagine in this game, because it's a big game, you gotta win.The whole playbook is gonna be open, and whatever he can handle, they're gonna run. I mean, that's as simple as it is.
You talk about him being smart. How much do you think that that helps, especially with such a quarterback-centric system that Jason Beck has?
Yeah, I mean, yeah, it helps a ton. Your quarterback essentially has to be the coach on the field for you. And as a young one, it's hard. I mean, he's gonna have growing pains this year, there's no doubt. I mean, that's playing the position, especially here and in the Big Ten. But I think with coach having that confidence in him, I'm sure he's — I'm sure — and again, I'm not in practice every day — but I guarantee that coach knows how much he can handle and what he can't handle. And that's just, again, it's all about communication.
The coordinator and the quarterback coach, or the quarterback of the team, is the most important relationship on the football field, in my opinion, or whoever's calling those plays. So guaranteed, there's a little extra work this week. Guaranteed, there's a lot of that like, hey, I wanna get this, I wanna do this on third downs, and you just work through it. And when you have a quarterback that you probably can trust to handle all that, it makes your job a lot easier.
And then you just wanna go out and execute, you wanna move the ball, and you wanna score points, and just have a rhythm in the offense, which is something that Michigan just hasn't had this year.
I know the snaps have been limited, the limited time playing, but what stood out to you about him?
I mean, you just can see it. I think me and Brady always talk about it when we watch film. You can just see a quarterback if he has it or he doesn't, right? The way they spin it, the way they move, where his eyes go on reads and all that stuff, so it's a very small sample size. But you can still see it on film, right? You can see it in two or three series. You can see the accuracy, you can just see all that, no matter what quarterback you're breaking down.
So I think you look at that, and you're like, OK, you see the upside, right? That's the big thing, you see the upside. And then he runs too, right? He's a little wiry, and I know he's gotta put some weight on and all that. But the designed runs and all that stuff, that's gonna be a part of this plan too. Because that's what Utah's offense was for 20 years with Kyle. They always had quarterbacks who could run. I mean, that's what Bryce was able to do so effectively. And I think we'll see a lot of that too. But now I just think we're gonna naturally see the passing game expand.
Indiana hasn't been scoring a lot in Big Ten play. You mentioned you think it's gonna be close. I imagine a lot of that has to do with Michigan's defense.
Michigan's defense is great. I mean, you look at the Big Ten now, it's like the Julian Sayin injury, unfortunately, obviously for him, I hope he gets better. But it's just opened this conference wide open. I mean, Michigan already has two losses, but Michigan can make a run. You never know, it's still a good football team, right? They still have an elite defense. Now with Tommy, it's like, OK, maybe this offense takes that next step.
So, but yeah, I think when you look at that matchup, it's interesting cuz I think Indiana's really good. Even, I mean, essentially a little mental lapse of where you were on the field. They're the No. 1 team in the country right now. They've struggled around the football last couple weeks, but they're a battle-tested team. Like that's a tough team to beat in the fourth quarter. But this Michigan defense will keep them in it. Because Indiana's run game has kind of stalled the last two games. I think Hoover's been really good, but they just haven't been as explosive. I think the interesting thing is one, if Indiana can run, but Becker and Marsh are really good. It's a really good tandem on the outside. I guess two of the best in the country. Becker's one of the best in the country. He's a stud. So kind of limiting, obviously, those big plays with him. They had a bunch of those last week, I think, in the fourth quarter. They had some big ones to Charlie.
So it's gonna be a good matchup. I think it's gonna be low scoring. I think Michigan can win. I definitely do. I think, yeah, I mean, I do worry a little bit about just, I mean, they're gonna get after Tommy in the pass. I mean, their D-line is nice. So the Michigan's offense line is gonna have to be great, so.
What's the path for Michigan?
I don't know who they have on the schedule. What, in this game? I think you gotta, it sounds stupid, but you gotta start fast. And you gotta play with a lead. I think you always gotta play with a lead, especially against a team like Indiana who can run the ball.
Obviously, the turnovers, that's the thing with Carr. He's super talented, but we haven't seen — this is it. You're getting thrown into the wolves in the big (expletive) game, in the Big Ten against the defending national champ. We literally just got after Julian Sayin, who's a really good quarterback, and out of our state offensive line on the road, or at home, actually.
But so, yeah, I think it's running the football. I think he's gonna have to be really good in the pass game. And as long as this game's within a score in the fourth quarter, then they got a shot. But playing from two touchdowns down, it's just not the way Michigan's built. Maybe that changes with the new QB, so we'll see.
Is there a difference between getting thrown into the fire at halftime, like Carr was, and starting a game for the first time?
Yeah, there's a big difference. You got less time to prepare, and you just kinda, that's why it was impressive, cuz you just, hey, you're gonna start the second half. I'm sure there's, I'm sure he knows, he's been ready. And there's obviously a lot of grumblings around here about when are they gonna give him a shot, so you can kinda prepare for that a little bit. But really, until you're thrown in the fire, that's when the bullets are flying, you gotta react and play.
So that's really, that's a lot harder to do, in my opinion, is to come in cold and be like, all right, hey, we need you. That's your job as a backup. With a week of preparation, you get a chance to kinda get the reps that you don't normally get. You get a chance to study more. You get a chance to communicate with the coach. You get more reps for the receivers.The offensive line is like, all right, we got you now. Like, hey, trust us, whatever. It's all those little things that go a long way, so.
What's your favorite thing to do in Ann Arbor? You guys are here a lot.
I'll say, every time we're in Ann Arbor, that means we see our boy, Charles Woodson, so it's always good to see C-Dub. Maybe a little Chop House dinner is always good, although we're not going there tonight. I don't know where we're going. I mean, Ann Arbor's, the little, the downtown, little college sounds great. Like, it's a great little area. And yeah, like the falls here, the leaves are turning a little bit and the weather's super nice, obviously.
A little odd for you, as someone who went up against Lloyd Carr to see his grandson starting?
Makes me feel old.
Yeah, Lloyd. That's got to be cool, they're both his grandsons, right? Yeah. High level D1 football, it's pretty cool, yeah. But yeah, I'm excited for the kid, man, it's a good opportunity for him. So he's gonna be a good player, so.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Matt Leinart explains why Michigan's offense could thrive with Tommy Carr