Steven Threet Should and Probably Will Start on Saturday

By Sean · Thursday, September 4, 2008 · 12:30 PM |  Share | Leave a Comment 

Just like last week, Rich Rodriguez has decided to not officially name a starting quarterback publicly. Also like last week, that doesn’t mean we don’t know who will be Michigan’s starter. The worst kept secret in the days leading up to the Utah game was that former walk-on Nick Sheridan would lead the Wolverines to start the season, and that is exactly what happened. Similarly, this week everything points to Steven Threet being the starter for the Miami (Ohio) game.

Both Sheridan and Threet played around an entire half against Utah, and neither played all that well. Sheridan made some poor decisions that resulted in a costly interception before halftime and a fumble down around Michigan’s own 10-yard line on the second half’s first possession. Threet came in after the fumble and didn’t turn the ball over, but did make a couple terrible passes that prevented Michigan from tying the game and moving the chains on 4th down.

With neither quarterback having a good game, the starter for Saturday really comes down to who made fewer mistakes in the season-opener. Both QBs had their fair share of mistakes, but in the end it was Threet that made less costly ones. Although they happened in really crucial situations for Michigan, I’d take passes thrown too high for anyone to catch over wobbly interceptions any day.

I give Nick Sheridan all the credit in the world for starting after being a walk-on, but I think Threet has earned his chance to start. If things don’t go well then Sheridan will get another shot, but let’s hope for Michigan’s sake that Threet plays a decent enough game to prevent that from happening.

We’ll still get to see the usual mistakes, such as poor passes or misreads on the coverage or taking sacks because he can’t run anywhere, but I do think Threet will run the offense more effectively than Sheridan. We saw that in the fourth quarter of the Utah game. The Utes did help Michigan out with penalties on one of the scoring drives, but Threet made a great throw to find Junior Hemingway for a long TD pass that got Michigan back in the game.

The way I see it, if Threet can limit the amount of bad passes he makes and can take care of the ball, we should see an offense that actually runs smoothly every once in a while. The run game will still have its issues, but the most important thing the QB has to do is manage the game in a way that gives Michigan a chance to win. By that, I mean don’t lob a pass into triple coverage or try to take back a handoff. Just play it safe and eventually you’ll find the endzone, especially if the defense is even close to as dominating as they were in the second half of the Utah game.