Will Rogers keeping options open and Washington is still in play

J.J. McCarthy is off to the NFL after winning the National Championship at Washington. Jim Harbaugh is likely heading to the league as well. That means there could be some turnover at Michigan this offseason, but Sherrone Moore will likely be elevated to the head coaching role and will keep a lot of the team together. 

Michigan has tried to bring in a pass-happy quarterback from Mississippi once before and the two-year Shea Patterson era didn’t exactly work out for Harbaugh. In 2018 and 2019, Michigan went 10-3 and 9-4 respectively, but Patterson struggled to transition to a more pro-style offense. 

Rogers has already begun that transition, playing one year at Mississippi State after Mike Leach’s unfortunate passing. That makes Rogers a better fit than Patterson, not to mention that the roster in Ann Arbor is quite a bit better than it was six years ago. 

Alex Orji was Michigan’s backup QB this season and Harbaugh and Moore loved to draw up run-heavy packages for the athletic 6-foot-3 sophomore quarterback, but with just one career pass attempt, I’m not sure that Orji is ready to take over for McCarthy. 

The system isn’t a perfect fit, but if Rogers wants to have a chance to start for a playoff-contender, then heading to Ann Arbor is his best chance.