JJ McCarthy, Darrius Clemons land NIL deal with local car dealership

The Michigan Wolverines football team has officially had two players ink NIL deals with Randy Wise Automotive, quarterback J.J. McCarthy and wide receiver Darrius Clemons. McCarthy’s deal was done back in February, but Clemons’ deal was just completed on Wednesday. The car dealership announced the news on their Twitter page Wednesday evening that Clemons had joined McCarthy in signing with the company. Check out the information below from the press release on their Twitter page, which let fans know that Clemons will be cruising around in a new 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

“The Randy Wise automotive team is proud to announce their partnership with Darrius Clemons, affiliated with Valiant Management Group, owned by Jared Wangler. Randy Wise has provided Clemons with a new 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The automotive group, based primarily in Genesee County, will team up with Clemons on various marketing and charitable ventures over the course of the next two years.”

“With Valiant, we continue to expand the NIL program at Michigan and couldn’t be happier to partner with Darrius!,” said Chris Wise, Vice President of the Randy Wise Automotive Team. “We welcome him from the West Coast with open arms and can’t wait to work together to make a difference on and off the field in our community!”

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Darrius Clemons was a highly touted prospect

Clemons was the fourth-highest rated prospect in Michigan’s 2022 recruiting class. According to the On3 Consensus Rankings, he was rated as the No. 21 wide receiver prospect in America and a four-star prospect.

“The NIL rule change has opened up great opportunities for college athletes all over the country. I am excited to align myself with a great family-owned Michigan brand,” said Jared Wangler, the owner of Valiant Management Group.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh surprised many around college football with his plan at quarterback. Cade McNamara will start Week 1 against Colorado State and JJ McCarthy will start Week 2 against Hawaii before a full-time starter will be named in Week 3.

McCarthy, a top 100 recruit who ranked as the No. 9 quarterback in the 2021 class according to On3 Consensus, appeared in 11 games as McNamara’s backup last season. He finished the year 34-of-59 passing for 516 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in addition to 124 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Randy Wise Automotive has several different locations throughout the state of Michigan. For more information, you can check out their website here.

On3’s Nick Schultz and Alex Weber also contributed to this article.