JJ McCarthy addresses how he responds to being ranked outside of the top five QBs nationally

Looking at the list of quarterbacks in college football ranked, JJ McCarthy is not a popular name inside of the top five. Even with the On3 College Player Rankings, McCarthy finds himself at No. 71 overall and the No. 7 quarterback. For somebody that has been a part of two consecutive Big Ten championships and College Football Playoff appearances, you would expect him up there.

But maybe to no surprise, McCarthy is not too caught up in rankings. He is just looking to help Michigan win football games come the fall. McCarthy’s role in competing for a national championship is going to be huge, maybe proving he deserves to be in the top five conversation.

“I don’t get too caught up in the rankings and stuff like that,” McCarthy said. “Most of them go off of stats, most of them go off little stuff that is out of your control. The only thing I focus on is being the best quarterback I can be for this football team. That’s all that matters. That’s what’s going to get the wins.”

When looking at the stats like McCarthy suggested, he is correct. None of the top passing stats have the Michigan quarterback near the top of the country. Just against fellow Big Ten quarterbacks, he finished fifth in passing yards (2,719), fourth in completion percentage (64.6%), and third in passing touchdowns (22).

Rankings aside, in the department McCarthy cares about — winning — he has been pretty good there. Michigan has lost just once during the regular season when McCarthy has played. Michigan State took down the Wolverines in 2021 although Cade McNamara was the primary quarterback.

Michigan went 12-0 during the 2022 regular season and won the Big Ten title game against Purdue. McCarthy was a fine player but really struggled once the College Football Playoff lights came on against TCU.

He completed under 60% of his throws and threw two critical interceptions, giving the Horned Frogs 14 free points in what wound up being a six-point loss for the Wolverines.

Now entering his second full season as the starting quarterback, there is an opportunity for McCarthy to elevate his game. From the outside, that would potentially mean becoming a top-five quarterback in college football — quite a good achievement.

However, for McCarthy, taking a positive step forward likely means success in the CFP with Michigan. He will desperately want a national championship before potentially leaving Ann Arbor.