JJ McCarthy reveals how he learned 'the hard way' how to augment the Kobe Bryant mindset

One of Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy’s biggest strengths as a quarterback is his accuracy. On the 2022 season, he’s completing 78.3% of his passes. For his own part, McCarthy contributes this to another strength of his, work ethic.

While speaking to the media, JJ McCarthy was asked about what goes into his accuracy. He gave an interesting answer where he invoked NBA legend, Kobe Bryant.

“At the root of it, at the base of it, has just been the constant reps,” JJ McCarthy said. “The constant, since 5th grade, just working with my quarterback coach. Always throwing.”

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That’s when JJ McCarthy brought up Kobe Bryant, who was known for his workaholic mentality. However, this didn’t entirely work for McCarthy, who has had to maintain it while augmenting that thought process.

“I always approached it with that Kobe Bryant mentality. I’m going to get a thousand shots in. Well, you can’t really do that with your arm. I learned that last year, with the lat tear and everything,” JJ McCarthy explained.

“But just continually repping out every single throw, so I know exactly how it feels when I want to put it a certain way and just being in the present moment when the game is happening when the play is happening. Just being completely present. Going through every little pre-snap checklist in my head, and just being able to deliver effortlessly.”

JJ McCarthy circled the Penn State game

Last season, JJ McCarthy split reps with Cade McNamara. However, there were several games that he dressed for but never played in. Now, he has all the games he missed circled on the calendar. That includes the next game against Penn State.

“Any game that I suited up for last year and didn’t play,” JJ McCarthy said, “I have that game marked on my calendar for this year. And just, like I said, embracing the opportunity. This is a great team.”