Michigan has for many years enjoyed a long-standing trend of stability at the quarterback position. Prior to 2008, the Wolverines usually had a pretty good idea who their starting quarterback would be heading into the regular season. Notable signal callers since the mid-’90s include Brian Griese, Tom Brady, Drew Henson, John Navarre and Chad Henne. Each quarterback in that group had great success with the program. There has been much less certainty since 2008.

Shane Morris, a 6-foot-3, 209 pound junior from Hazel Park, Michigan, was expected to be the team’s 2015 starter when last season ended. Morris was the backup to previous starter Devin Gardner and was the only quarterback on the roster with any real playing experience. All of that may have changed a few months ago when ex-Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock announced his transfer to the Wolverines.

Common sense would tell you that Rudock will be head coach Jim Harbaugh‘s guy in 2015. In his final two seasons with the Hawkeyes, Rudock tallied 34 touchdown passes compared to 18 interceptions. In limited playing time the last two seasons, Morris has no career touchdowns and five interceptions.

It’s difficult to evaluate a quarterback with as little playing time as Morris and even harder to predict how a player will play under a coach that he’s never played for, though Rudock seems like the obvious choice.

Michigan has a great tradition of winning and they’re hoping that Jim Harbaugh can bring that back. It’s not likely that any quarterback on the roster will put up flashy numbers, but the most important job for a starting quarterback is to protect the football and give his team the opportunity to win a game.

It’s hard to tell how any quarterback on the roster will perform in Harbaugh’s offense, but based on each individual resume, Michigan fans should expect to see Jake Rudock on the field at Utah on September 3.