JJ McCarthy believes Michigan offense has room for growth

Michigan may be enjoying a tremendous season thus far, but quarterback JJ McCarthy recognizes there’s plenty of room for growth.

Speaking with the media, the dual-threat quarterback spoke about how high he believes the Wolverines offense can fly.

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“I still feel like we’re not — in my eyes, I don’t think we should be stopped,” started McCarthy. “I don’t think we’ve reached that yet. I, there’s so many — the beauty of games like the first half we had, and going back to I mean, wow it’s been a minute, but going back to Michigan State with the red zone difficulties, every game brings about new opportunities to improve. We’re just going to keep looking for those opportunities, and we’re definitely not where we need to be, I mean in my eyes we shouldn’t be stopped at all.

“… I can do a lot better job on third down, on scramble. If something’s not there, not just trying to fit it in there. Extend the play, use my legs, use that god given ability. Just be more creative out there, for sure.”

Alas, McCarthy has been dangerous since taking over as the team’s starting quarterback, and the Wolverines rushing attack has been among the best in the nation. Still, the humble signal caller believes Michigan needs to get to as close to perfect as possible if they’re to accomplish all of their goals in 2022.

JJ McCarthy details sideline conversations with Jim Harbaugh

The relationship between a coach and quarterback is incredibly important. It’s also one that can be strained by a quarterback competition. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case with Michigan’s JJ McCarthy and Jim Harbaugh.

While speaking to the media, McCarthy explained how conversations go between himself and head coach Harbaugh during games.

“It’s not too much,” JJ McCarthy admitted. “You’d be surprised, it’s really not too much.”

“What I love so much about him is that he’s been there. He’s been in that situation. He knows that when you’re in the game, you’re in your own world and he doesn’t want to mess with anything, but he’s always so encouraging. I mean, if he sees something, he’s always gonna let me know and give his piece of advice, but yeah, he kind of lets me be and play my own game.”

Jim Harbaugh, of course, does know the exact position that JJ McCarthy is in. He played quarterback for Michigan before going on to play in the NFL. 

To start the season, Harbaugh ran a quarterback competition between the more experienced Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy, who was seen as having higher potential. Ultimately, McCarthy won the job. Since then, he’s led Michigan to an unbeaten record and has the Wolverines ranked third in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. 

Coming to Michigan, JJ McCarthy was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2021.