No. 24 Michigan is expected to start its third quarterback of the season against No. 22 Illinois on Oct. 19. Head coach Sherrone Moore said on the “Inside Michigan Football” coaches show that he expects Jack Tuttle to get the nod after the Wolverines. ‘goodbye week.
“I think right now it gives us the best chance to win,” Moore said. via On3.com. “And we’ll continue to process that as an offense, as a team, but that seems to be the direction we’re headed.”
Tuttle made his first appearance of the season in last Saturday’s matchup against Washington. He took over midway through the second quarter after starter Alex Orji was ineffective, completing 3 of 7 passes for 15 yards and rushing for just 11 on three carries.
Michigan HC Sherrone Moore expects Jack Tuttle to start at QB against Illinois. Via “Inside Michigan Football”:
“I think right now it gives us the best chance to win. We’ll continue to process that as an offense, as a team, but that seems to be the direction we’re headed.” pic.twitter.com/dKxVeZqXDr
— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) October 7, 2024
The seventh-year senior led Michigan to its first touchdown, cutting the Huskies’ lead to 14-7 by leading a seven-play, 75-yard drive. Donovan Edwards capped the possession with a 39-yard scoring run. Tuttle completed one pass for five yards and ran twice for 14 yards on the drive.
Tuttle completed 10 of 18 passes for 98 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Michigan’s 27-17 loss to Washington.
The Wolverines began their season with Davis Warren starting the first three games at quarterback. But after the senior threw three interceptions against Arkansas State, he was benched for Orji. Moore then designated Orji to start against then-No. 11 USC and led Michigan to a 27-24 comeback despite throwing for just 32 yards on 7-of-12 passing.
Moore opted to stick with Orji when Michigan beat Minnesota the following week, even though the junior was still ineffective throwing the ball (10 of 18 for 86 yards) and the Wolverines’ offense was notoriously one-dimensional.
However, Michigan finally had to make a change when it fell behind 14-0 to Washington and needed to move the ball down the field with some passing. Although Tuttle lost a fumble and threw an interception to end two late Wolverines possessions, the offense appeared to be much more effective and at least had the threat of a passing game with him under center.
“I thought offensively, Jack Tuttle definitely came in there and gave us a big spark, and that was the positive,” Moore added. “The first few drives: touchdown, field goal, touchdown. He gave us a lot of momentum on offense. And he’s still punishing himself. I had to call him last night and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got your back, ‘You’re good.'” He actually just practiced. for a week and a half.”
Tuttle returned to Michigan for a seventh season of eligibility after the NCAA approved his request for a medical redshirt. In 21 games over six seasons, he threw for 1,031 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 59% of his passes.
He appeared to be the favorite to be the starter when JJ McCarthy left for the NFL after the Wolverines finished the 2023-24 season as national champions. However, an injury to his right (throwing) elbow suffered last season kept him out of spring practice and he had not yet recovered by the start of the 2024 campaign.