Tommy Carr is a legacy Michigan player.
He is the grandson of the legendary Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr, who coached Michigan to the 1997 national championship.
Carr also has a maternal grandfather who played at Michigan. Tom Curtis was an All-American safety for the Wolverines.
Carr’s dad, Jason, was a backup QB for Michigan, too.
It’s only Carr’s brother, CJ, who went on a different path — he’s Notre Dame’s star quarterback now.
With all that in mind, then, Tommy Carr has a chance to build his own Michigan legacy in the weeks ahead.
On Saturday, Carr was put into the game against Penn State and completed 5-of-7 passes for 47 yards while also running four times for 36 yards and a touchdown.
The Wolverines had benched prized recruit Bryce Underwood, who is now in his sophomore season but hasn’t lived up to the hype.
It creates all sorts of questions going forward for Michigan, and Carr could be the one to answer them.
Is Tommy Carr the New Michigan Starter?
Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham wasn’t going to reveal that on Saturday night at his press conference.
“Not prepared to say right now at this desk or this table what we’re going to do going forward,” Whittingham told reporters, via 247Sports.
Whittingham was certainly pleased with how Carr played, though.
“He’s very prepared when his number was called,” Whittingham said. “And like I said, he responded very well. And going forward, we’ll take a good hard look at the tape and see why things bogged down in the first half and why we were better in the second half because there really wasn’t a lot of scheme change.”
Carr delivered Michigan’s final points when he took a 12-yard run for a touchdown and a 21-11 lead with 2:58 left in the fourth quarter.
“He responded very well,” Whittingham said. “It wasn’t perfect. There’s some things he obviously needs to get better at. But he had some key runs for us. That option there for that final touchdown. That was a great run.”
What’s Next for Bryce Underwood?
Underwood’s benching doesn’t have to be permanent, but it’s not a good sign.
“Too soon to say right now,” Whittingham said. “We really need to evaluate it again, like I said, and take a look at both bodies of work. They each had a complete half of work tonight. Of course, Bryce had five games prior. And so it’s not a big sample size for Tommy, but enough of one where we can get a pretty good read on what we think the best thing going forward will be. Should be able to get a good read on that.”
Michigan has to make a decision in a hurry. Next up for the Wolverines is a home matchup with Indiana. The defending national champs lost on Saturday to Ohio State, but they’re still one of the most formidable teams in the country.
The Wolverines will have to get their QB decision right between Carr and Underwood to stand a chance in that game.
What’s Next for Michigan’s Tommy Carr, Starting QB Job After Bryce Underwood Benching