J.J. McCarthy draws '47' on hand to honor friend, UNLV's late Ryan Keeler, throws 47-yard TD

For Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, Saturday’s contest against UNLV holds a heightened significance because of who won’t be there. McCarthy was childhood and then for a time high school teammates with late UNLV defensive end Ryan Keeler, who died in February.

To commemorate Keeler, McCarthy wrote his uniform number, 47, on the back of his left hand. And as the broadcast discussed McCarthy’s tribute to a late friend, the quarterback completed a touchdown pass to wideout Roman Wilson — for 47 yards.

“Just like that, with 47 on one hand, he rifles it to his favorite target with the other and a 47-yard touchdown. A 47-yard touchdown,” play-by-play commentator Brad Nessler said.

J.J. McCarthy is wearing No. 47 on his hand to honor the memory of his friend and high school teammate Ryan Keeler.

Keeler, who passed away in February, was a defensive lineman for UNLV.

Today, McCarthy threw a 47-yard touchdown pass. pic.twitter.com/kka89dCnJz

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 9, 2023

“Unbelievable,” color commentator Gary Danielson said.

McCarthy likely didn’t know the coincidence at the moment, but Nessler highlighted it right away and said he expects the quarterback to see it later and appreciate the coincidence.

“J.J. might not know it now, but some time he’s going to see a stat sheet and see Ryan Keeler’s number in his head and on his wrist and the endzone, to Roman Wilson,” Nessler said.

McCarthy and interim 2nd half coach Mike Hart were subdued about the win

After another laugher early the season, this time a 35-7 steamrolling of UNLV, Michigan interim head coach Mike Hart thinks the Wolverines were adept “guardians of victory” as head coach Jim Harbaugh had charged them to be. After the win, he spoke with CBS sideline reporter Jenny Taft about the message from Harbaugh and how the team performed.

Hart never doubted that all the coaches and players wanted to come out and get another win for Harbaugh. The Michigan head coach is out through the first three games of the season as the result of a school-imposed three-game suspension.

“Just come out here and play for coach Harbaugh. All the guys do, all the coaches do. We miss him. Guys came out here and played hard. Everyone’s prepared. We’re creating more depth as the year goes on, so it’s great that we get to play all these guys,” Hart said.

McCarthy’s message to Harbaugh was simpler, and directed solely toward his head coach via the broadcast.

“I love you coach, can’t wait to have you back in a couple weeks,” McCarthy said.

And when Harbaugh gets back, Michigan is likely to be 3-0 and McCarthy will have played a big role in the that. The junior signal caller had just three incompletions and was in total control from the first snap.

He was rather mum about the performance after the fact.

“I mean just getting the ball to my playmakers, in their hands. We treat every single day like game day this offseason. And just, these game days are just another day at the office,” McCarthy said.