Roman Wilson reflects on the growth of JJ McCarthy

For the first time in three seasons in Ann Arbor, JJ McCarthy is entering a year as the unquestioned QB1 for Michigan. Overall, though, how has the grown into that role, especially from his great sophomore season to now?

Well, leave it to senior wide receiver Roman Wilson to explain that to you. After catching several passes from him last fall, Wilson believes that McCarthy was just better able to step into the spotlight that he believes his quarterback is capable of shining in as a player.

“As the season went on? I definitely started to see JJ step out of his shell a little bit more, become the quarterback he is,” Wilson said. “He’s a great quarterback and that’s just a little bit of our chemistry coming together.”

Wilson caught 23 passes from McCarthy in 2022 for 311 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

When you add that production with the stats from McCarthy’s other pass catchers like Ronnie Bell, Cornelius Johnson, and Luke Schoonmaker, he was able to accumulate over 2,700 passing yards and 22 touchdowns over the course of his 13 games that featured 12 starts.

McCarthy led the Wolverines to second-straight wins over Ohio State, victories in the Big Ten Championship, and appearances in the College Football Playoff while growing. Now, after last season, he could be even better for his receivers like Wilson come kickoff this season.

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

Looking at the list of college quarterbacks, 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. That could be what proves that he deserves to be in the top-five conversation in the end.

“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.”