Tommy Carr fights through flu to power Michigan: 'He's tough as nails'

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Michigan freshman quarterback Tommy Carr dealt with the flu during the week and had some rough moments, but no one would have known during the Wolverines' 28-21 victory at Rutgers considering his performance.

Carr accounted for 320 total yards and three total touchdowns, including two rushing, in his second straight start since taking over for sophomore Bryce Underwood. Underwood had started 19 games but lost the job to Carr in the second half of the Penn State game two weeks ago.

The Wolverines (5-3, 2-3 Big Ten) will face Michigan State next weekend at Michigan Stadium.

"He was not feeling good, but he didn't miss any practice," Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham said of Carr. "He's a tough kid. You talk about a guy that's tough as nails, Tommy Carr is tough as nails both mentally and physically. He wasn't feeling good at all, particularly, I think it was the Thursday practice. But he was out there and battling and didn't miss a beat. He was pretty sick at points in the week."

Carr was 22 of 27 passing for 266 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 54 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns, including the winning 9-yard run on a broken play.

"I think a lot of it comes down to being young and just playing in the backyard and just making people miss," Carr said of his knack for scrambling and making plays. "Did that a lot when I was younger, but then just being able to make throws off the platform and just making plays with your legs."

Whittingham would not say earlier in the week who the starting quarterback would be, but it is clear this is Carr's job going forward.

"I felt he took a big step forward this week, without a doubt," Whittingham said. "Shoot, he was over 80% completion percentage. His legs came up with some big runs for us. Couple touchdowns, 50 - something yards in rushing, took care of the football. No turnovers. Made a bunch of first downs. Possessed the ball for nearly 40 minutes. So yeah, he was instrumental in all that good stuff happening."

Carr said there were a couple deep balls, both underthrown, he'd like to get back, but he felt good about his progress.

"If we'd have been on the right on the money — that's easy to say — but if he was able to drop it out there where it needed to be, I think they both would have been touchdowns or at least huge gains," Whittingham said. "I'm not sure that is indicative of his arm strength. I just think he needs to get the ball just a hair quicker and put a little more on it because he does have an arm. Doesn't have a Bryce Underwood arm, but he's got an arm that's very capable."

Carr is still about 20 pounds lighter than Whittingham said is ideal, and with those weight gains will come strength gains. But Carr's intangibles include his poise.

"That's one of his strengths," Whittingham said. "He's unflappable. He never panics. He's very calm, collected, no matter what the situation, and that's a great quality to have in a quarterback. I mean, he's a guy that already you know the moment is not too big for him. I think I said that last week, and it showed up again this week.

"And his pocket presence was outstanding. I thought he moved around well in the pocket, kept his eyes downfield a bunch of the time to find some receivers and tucked it and ran when he needed to. So, a lot of good things by Tommy."

Two starts have allowed Carr to build confidence.

"You get more comfortable with the more experience that you have," Carr said. "Still got to hit a few deep balls. Just get better each and every week."