Tommy Carr didn’t just get on the field Saturday at the Big House - he made the moment count.
With Michigan rolling past UTEP, 52-17, the true freshman quarterback finally saw his first collegiate action in the fourth quarter and handled it cleanly: 2-for-2 passing for 23 yards and a touchdown, plus 18 rushing yards on two carries. He played 11 offensive snaps and delivered the kind of debut that can turn offseason buzz into something a lot more real.
The touchdown throw was the snapshot of the afternoon. Carr dropped a well-placed ball over Salesi Moa’s shoulder for both players’ first career score. For a freshman whose name had already been floating around Michigan’s quarterback room all spring, it was a tidy answer to the skepticism that usually comes with camp praise for a young player buried behind roster uncertainty.
That skepticism made sense. Earlier in the spring, the talk around Carr came with a healthy dose of caution because of the injuries and departures at quarterback.
It was easy to wonder whether the praise was being inflated by circumstance. But Carr kept stacking good impressions, beat out Colorado State transfer Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi for the backup job in fall camp, and then was the first reserve quarterback to come off the bench once the game was out of hand.
Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham didn’t hide what he sees in the freshman.
"To me, his ceiling is exceptionally high," Whittingham said. "And what his brother is doing at Notre Dame is outstanding. I think Tommy is cut from the same cloth and has that same type of upside."
Whittingham also had a family connection to the day. Lloyd Carr, the Hall of Fame coach who led Michigan to the 1997 national championship, was in the stadium for Tommy’s debut.
Whittingham said he had a long conversation with Lloyd early in his time at Michigan and called it "what a treat that was." While part of the family was in South Bend for CJ Carr’s game against Michigan State, Tommy’s mother, Tammi, was at the Big House.
The Michigan coach also pointed to the work Carr has been putting in behind the scenes.
"It's great to see him be ready when his number was called," Whittingham said of Tommy. "Every time I walk by that quarterback room, I don't care what time of day it is, Tommy Carr - unless he has class, then he's not there.
But if he doesn't have class, he's in there watching tape. He's a student of the game.
He's a football junkie."
Earlier this fall, Michigan quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. gave a similar read on the freshman.
"He's a football kid through and through. It's what he loves to do," Detmer said of Tommy Carr earlier this fall.
"Something that is one of his better characteristics is he's going to be consistent. He's going to be sharp.
And then he has a knack and a savviness to just play ball. And when stuff's not there or stuff's not perfect - which we always talk about in our quarterback room, they're not going to be perfect.
And when that isn't the case, being able to make plays, extend plays, and try to help our offense be successful. He's been real consistent through spring and then now through camp."
Carr’s path to QB2 wasn’t a formality. Fowler-Nicolosi arrived in late summer and brought experience with him, including 969 career pass attempts over four seasons at Colorado State, which made him the most seasoned quarterback on the roster.
He also has a strong arm. But when Michigan needed a backup late in a blowout, Carr got the first shot - and he turned it into a touchdown on his first day of college football.
In Other News...
Michigans Ranking Climb Just Made This Big Ten Stretch Feel Real
Michigans latest jump in the AP Top 25 came with a little more punch than the usual early-season polling shuffle. After a 52-17 win over UTEP, the Wolverines climbed one spot to No. 18, a small rise that still matters because it reflects how far the program has steadied itself in the first few weeks under first-year coach Kyle Whittingham. At 3-0, Michigan has already worked through an early ranking dip and now looks more settled than it did in September.
The next test is the one that will say even more. No. 17 Iowa is up next in a Big Ten matchup, giving Michigan a chance to turn a modest poll move into something more meaningful against a ranked conference opponent. For a team that has been building momentum and credibility, this stretch starts to feel like the point where the conversations around progress become harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan May Have Found A Freshman Pass Rush Answer
Michigan got a useful glimpse of a young pass-rush option in Week 3, when freshman edge rusher Tariq Boney made his presence felt against UTEP. Boney finished with four tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack, a production line that matched the buzz he had already been building in fall camp. Coaches Kyle Whittingham and Jay Hill had both spoken highly of him during camp, and teammates had noticed the same steady rise on the practice field.
For a Michigan front that is always looking for more disruption off the edge, the encouraging part is not just the stat sheet but how familiar the performance looked to people inside the program. Boney's play against UTEP fit the reputation he created in practice, giving the Wolverines another name to watch as the season moves into games that should ask more of the pass rush. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Has A Real Chance To Climb In This Poll Shakeup
USCs 42-35 win over Rutgers gave the Trojans a fourth victory and added another wrinkle to a polling picture that has already been turned on its head by a weekend of upsets. With LSU and Texas A&M both taking losses, the AP Top 25 is in line for movement that could reshape not just the top of the ranking, but also the way the conference race looks heading into the stretch run.
For Michigan readers, the bigger takeaway is the ripple effect. Iowa has a real opening to climb, and USCs path gets even more interesting with Oregon coming to Los Angeles next, a matchup that could carry major weight in the poll shakeup. In a season where every upset seems to pull another team into the conversation, the next round of conference games may tell us even more about who is built to stay put. [Read more 🡒]