Rick Osentoski – USA Today Sports
The Michigan Wolverines are in the midst of a regime change as Jim Harbaugh looks to make his mark on the program in 2015. A major part of their transition is finding a new quarterback to lead the offense. Junior Shane Morris is the longest tenured Wolverine signal caller currently on the roster and says the quarterback position next season is “my job to lose.” But it’s going to take more than Morris’ sense of self-confidence to secure the starting job next season.
While Morris has been on campus longer than anyone else in the running for the job, his play on the field the last two seasons has left plenty to be desired. In his collegiate career at Michigan, Morris has completed 43 of 87 passes (49.4 percent) for 389 yards and five interceptions. He has yet to throw a touchdown pass as a Wolverine and last season struggled mightily when he was able to get on the field, completing just 35 percent of his passes for 128 yards (averaging a paltry 3.2 yards per attempt) with three interceptions.
Morris’ main competition in 2015 seems to be Iowa Hawkeyes graduate transfer Jake Rudock. In his two years as a starter at the Big Ten rival school, Rudock completed 60.3 percent of his passes as he racked up 4,819 yards through the air with 34 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. His production against Big Ten opponents makes him an intriguing option for Harbaugh next season. If he can step in and pick up the playbook in a hurry, there’s no reason to doubt that Rudock could get some work with the first-team offense during fall camp.
That could spell trouble for Morris’ chances of starting again, despite his confidence level. If he can’t beat out Rudock for the job this season, Morris will be relegated to a backup role this season and could get stuck there as the stable of young quarterback talent that Harbaugh has been stockpiling becomes ready to take the reins. The window of opportunity seems to be closing on Morris, and he needs to show more than confidence in himself this offseason if he wants to make his mark as the starter in 2015.
With Michigan looking to get the Harbaugh era off to a successful start in 2015, will a confident Shane Morris prove himself capable of leading the offense?
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