Tommy Carr is heading into Michigan’s rivalry showdown with Michigan State with a clear assignment: hit the deep ball.
Carr will make his third straight start for the Wolverines after flashing promise in relief against Penn State, then showing some freshman growing pains in a 13-6 loss to Indiana. He bounced back in a big way against Rutgers last weekend, helping Michigan leave Piscataway with a win and earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in the process. That performance also settled the quarterback picture for now, with Kyle Whittingham naming Carr the starter for the foreseeable future.
The numbers from Rutgers were strong - 266 passing yards and 54 rushing yards - but Carr knows there were two throws he wants back. Both came on deep shots to Andrew Marsh, and both looked like they had touchdown potential if the connection had been there. Carr said that’s the next step for him as Michigan prepares for Michigan State.
“Definitely connecting on a few deep balls," Carr told Jon Jansen on 'Inside Michigan Football'. "You know, we got to be able to push the ball down the field, especially how much we run the ball.
I feel like if we take a few shots and connect on those, it’ll open up the run game. So I got to be better there and then continue to just take care of the ball.
That’s the key of the game.”
There has been some chatter about whether the true freshman has enough arm to consistently hit those throws. Through the season, Carr is 2-for-6 on passes longer than 20 yards, and at times he hasn’t looked like he’s driving the ball with much zip when the shot is there.
Whittingham pushed back on the idea that arm strength is the problem. He said Carr can throw the ball about 55 yards, and the misses to Marsh came down to timing more than anything else.
“We had all the balls that were on target were completed," said Whittingham. "If there’s one thing that Tommy didn’t quite do as well as we need to in the game is the deep ball. You know, we had Andrew Marsh a couple of times on some deep shots and we just didn’t quite get the ball out on time and it was slightly under thrown.
"And so if you’re nitpicking and looking for something to improve upon, we need to do a better job as coaches of timing that up and practice those deep shots.”
"It was definitely more timing. He was only about a 40, 45 yard throw.
Tommy, he’s not a guy that can throw the ball 70 yards, but he can throw it 55 yards with no problem. And so both those balls were right around the 40 yard range.
So it was more of a judgment and a timing thing rather than a lack of arm strength.”
Whittingham also said Monday that roughly 55 players on the roster have never been part of the in-state rivalry. To help them understand what it means, Michigan has brought in former players, including Jon Jansen, to talk about the game’s impact.
Whittingham said he’s learned more about the Michigan State rivalry himself, though he already has experience with big rivalry games from the Holy War between Utah and BYU.
Carr, though, already has a built-in connection to this one. He hasn’t played in the rivalry yet, but he’s grown up around it. His grandfather, Lloyd Carr, coached in it for years, and Tommy Carr grew up as a Michigan fan watching the Wolverines take on their annual rival.
Now he gets his first crack at it on Saturday night, with Michigan leaning on him to keep the offense moving. If he can clean up the deep ball, the Wolverines have a chance to make some noise.
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