J.J. McCarthy addresses Jim Harbaugh tributes: ‘I just want my coach back’

Michigan opened and closed the Jesse Minter Era 1-0 on Saturday, dispatching East Carolina with ease in a 30-3 season opener. But the Wolverines didn’t minimize the absence of head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sideline.

Harbaugh, suspended by the school for three games to start the season amid an NCAA infractions case, watched the game from elsewhere in Washtenaw County on Saturday, though his presence was constant. Along with “Free Harbaugh” T-shirts worn in warmups, the Michigan team lined up in the “train” formation he first ran out in 2016, holding out four fingers to signify the number Harbaugh wore as a quarterback.

“I just want my coach back. It’s as simple as that. I just want him back,” Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy said.

McCarthy explained the sentiment behind the Harbaugh tribute and shared there was some pressure on the players for the call to not blow up.

“Yeah that was definitely a tribute to coach Harbaugh. I think he did that back in 2015 or 2016 when he first got here and we just wanted to attribute him in some way,” McCarthy said. “And it was actually funny, how many yards did we get on that play? Three, four?”

Sitting to McCarthy’s left, running back Blake Corum confirmed his recollection of the play — Michigan had a three-yard gain — before McCarthy shared how they needed to reach a certain threshold on the play.

“We had to get more than three, he said. Three was OK, but anything less than that, it’s like a bad tribute. So that was pretty cool to do that,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy is already on to Week 2

Even without its head coach, Michigan got off to a fast start to the year with a 30-3 victory over East Carolina at The Big House. With more than 400 total yards of offense, it was quite a way to open the season.

But McCarthy isn’t getting too caught up in his big day.

“We’re 1-0, but we’ve got to go 2-0,” McCarthy told Peacock’s Lewis Johnson afterward. “That’s the only thing that matters. This game is great. We did a lot of good things, a lot of good things to learn from and get better at. But it’s on to Week 2.”

McCarthy had a huge showing, throwing for 280 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Michigan offensive attack. The two-headed monster of Corum and Donovan Edwards led the running game with 73 and 37 yards, respectively. Corum also ran in a touchdown in his first game back after missing the end of the 2022 campaign with a torn ACL.

All of McCarthy’s touchdown passes went to Roman Wilson, though, as he totaled 78 receiving yards as well. They clearly had a connection all day long — and it’s something McCarthy said has been brewing all summer.

“That vibe was cooking up all offseason,” McCarthy said. “We were working on it almost every single week, multiple times a week and it’s just amazing to showcase it to everyone.”