For the second year in a row the quarterback committed to Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch has won the Aerial Assault quarterback camp at Michigan. Last year it was Brandon Peters, who eventually signed with the Wolverines, and this year it was ESPN 300 quarterback Dylan McCaffrey who took home the top honors.
The camp is comprised of various challenges and competitions including typical quarterback drills, but also games of soccer, races, fielding baseballs and even a bounce house obstacle course that are all assigned certain points.
McCaffrey, the No. 19 ranked prospect overall, knew that Peters had won the year before and came in to the camp with winning on his mind.
“Definitely, I think that’s got to be your goal if you’re going to any of these things,” McCaffrey said. “If you want to be a special quarterback you got to want to win. But also I came in with a huge mindset of being able to learn because this is a great opportunity, so many NFL guys, so many NFL coaches here that know what they’re doing.”
The coaches included current NFL players, including Jay Cutler and Zach Mettenberger, as well as NFL coaches and former Michigan quarterbacks Brian Griese, Denard Robinson, Todd Collins and Jake Rudock.
While the camp is unorthodox in its approach, it is modeled after a conversation Harbaugh had with the late Bill Walsh. Harbaugh asked Walsh what he looked for in his quarterbacks and Walsh responded that he is in search of athletic instincts.
We are now, of course, to the soccer portion of the quarterback camp pic.twitter.com/yji0HYDaL8
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) June 18, 2016
Having the quarterbacks field ground balls, play games of soccer and other games not traditionally used at quarterback camps are all in the name of athleticism.
“That kind of position, the quarterback position, you look for this in other players, but when you look at the quarterback position, you’re looking at the guy who wants and gets the best grades, who wins the most awards and excels at sports,” Harbaugh said. “It’s really critical at the quarterback position and that that’s the type of competitor and mindset that he has. It’s a football camp, A4, he wants to win it.”
McCaffrey had heard rumors that he would be competing in non-football related sports at the camp and true to what Harbaugh talked about with competing and excelling at everything he does, McCaffrey came in with the right attitude and mentality.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to get out and compete, just what every quarterback has to learn and love,” he said. “And I think it’s a great opportunity to learn to love it. And I just think it’s just more fun than almost every other camp I’ve been to because you get to learn so much and have a great time doing it.”