Jim Harbaugh says JJ McCarthy made big strides during offseason

JJ McCarthy eventually took over the quarterback spot for Michigan last season. After coming out of the Wolverine’s quarterback competition as their guy, he made sure to make that decision worthwhile for them as he led them to a 13-1 record, a Big Ten Championship, and the College Football Playoff.

Still, as he’s just heading into his junior year in Ann Arbor, Jim Harbaugh said that they’ve seen plenty of growth out of him this offseason while speaking with media at the SMSB Camp. Beyond just seeing the maturation in his face, Harbaugh said McCarthy had a fantastic spring considering he’s always looking to make his next day better than his last.

“He had a great spring, he had a tremendous spring,” Harbaugh said. “I think that everything he does? I mean he truly epitomizes a better day than yesterday, a better tomorrow than today more than anybody I’ve ever been around. It’s going good, going good. He had a magnificent spring.”

McCarthy threw for 2,719 yards and 22 touchdowns on a 64.6% completion rate in 2022. He also only threw five picks in his first season as a starter with two coming in the final game of the year against TCU in the playoff. Then, as a dual-threat, he rushed for 306 yards and five more scores on the ground.

Those numbers don’t necessarily jump off the page by any means. Still, it was more than enough to get Michigan within reach of the promised land. Considering McCarthy’s other characteristics, that ability to will the Wolverines to where they want to go so far has become something that Harbaugh says that loves about him.

“The one he’s got is the willingness to do anything for anybody on the team,” said Harbaugh. “I look at the great quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. I’m not with them every day. But you can just tell just looking at how they play the game? And what they say, especially about their teammates? There’s a willingness there to do (anything). And that’s the secret sauce in a quarterback.”

“You can have all the different attributes, which Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen do. So does JJ. But they also have that willingness to do anything for their teammates,” Harbaugh said. “And, because of that, their teammates and their coaches, like me, would follow him anywhere. I recommend that anybody on the team follow JJ anywhere he goes, anywhere that he’s leading.”

That’s some high praise for McCarthy’s leadership as he just now reaches the status of an upperclassmen. Even so, it appears more than justified as college football can plan on expecting an even better, more mature version of the Michigan quarterback once he takes the field again this fall.