Jim Harbaugh: J.J. McCarthy’s pro day was ‘the best I’ve ever seen’

Former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was in Ann Arbor last week to check out the Wolverines’ Pro Day as the new head coach of the L.A. Chargers. Since the Pro Day, Harbaugh told reporters he’s heard “numerous” unsolicited compliments for his former quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The former Wolverines skipper went so far as to say that McCarthy had the best pro day he’s ever seen.

“The workout J.J. had, I mean I’ve been to a lot of pro days and watched quarterbacks throw, that was the best I’ve ever seen a quarterback throw it in a pro day,” Harbaugh said, via Tracy Sandler. “Not only were his feet great in the individual drills, then he started throwing and every throw was right there. The receivers did a great job too. They all had a great day.

“Here, coaches and GMs will come up to me and say, ‘Great job.’ It’s like I predicted once they were around him. I’ve been hearing stories about where he is on the board. The little things, the intangibles, it was absolutely no surprise whatsoever. There was raving and it was great to hear. I know it was sincere. It’s unsolicited. But it’s numerous, numerous GMs, numerous head coaches.”

Harbaugh sticks by McCarthy draft prediction

Harbaugh’s comments from the NFL’s annual league meetings are a bit of a victory lap. Shortly after taking the job in Los Angeles, the coach made a bold prediction about how teams would view McCarthy as the draft process moves along. Though he may not be the No. 1 QB off the board next month like Harbaugh predicted, he is reportedly impressing beyond the expectations of NFL GMs and head coaches.

“Arm talent, athleticism, it-factor, winning with numbing repetition,” Harbaugh told Colin Cowherd in February. “Don’t be surprised if/when he goes, if he’s the No. 1 quarterback off the board. That’s my prediction right now.

“When people get a load of JJ and how he can throw the ball, how he spins it, his athleticism, his intelligence, the it-factor, the competitiveness he has, and they get around him and really start digging in and talking to him, yeah, that’s an early prediction for the 2024 NFL Draft.”

Under Harbaugh’s guidance, McCarthy found success early as the starting quarterback for Michigan. Taking over the job after winning an open competition with Cade McNamara before the 2022 season, he led Michigan to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons with consecutive wins over Ohio State, two Big Ten titles and two College Football Playoff berths. The only loss as a starting quarterback he suffered while at Michigan was at the CFP in 2022.

He completed 64.6 percent of his 322 attempts in 2022 for 2719 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. He bumped up his completion percentage to 74.2 percent in 2023 on 287 pass attempts for 2630 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions.