Sherrone Moore responds to criticisms of J.J. McCarthy

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was instrumental in leading the Wolverines to back-to-back Big Ten Championships the past two years, and the 2024 National Championship. But he’s certainly dealt with more than his fair share of criticism leading up to this year’s combine and the 2024 NFL Draft.

On Friday evening, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah and Rich Eisen sat down with Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore at the combine, where he answered a few questions regarding the criticism of his former signal-caller.

Sherrone Moore comments on criticism of J.J. McCarthy

“I mean, you put on the film of J.J. McCarthy and you just see a winner. You see a guy that if asked to hand the ball off, he will. If asked to throw the ball and be accurate and throw it on time and scramble around, make plays, he can. He can make every type of throw – off-balance throw, anything you want, J.J. can do,” Moore said on the NFL Network broadcast.

Over two years as the starter in Ann Arbor, McCarthy completed 68.5% of his passes overall for over 5,700 yards, 44 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 500-plus yards for eight more scores.

“He can run the football if you wanted to. He’s extremely smart, extremely intelligent, he’s taken snaps on the center, he’s called a play from a wristband, he’s looked at the sidelines. He’s done everything you want, and he has the ‘it’ factor that you want in the quarterback. … The dude loves football,” Moore continued.

In his 25 games as QB1 for the maize & blue, Michigan went 25-1, including two wins over Ohio State, two Big Ten Championships, and a pair of College Football Playoff appearances with one national title this past season.

“So, he’s gonna find a way to get better, and that’s the thing he’s gonna do. He’s the ultimate team guy. I remember as a freshman, him coming in the huddle and Andrew Stueber – who was a senior o-lineman – told me, he’s like, ‘Man, I would run through a wall for that guy.’ He’s just a special type of kid,” the Wolverines head coach finished.

McCarthy played his high school football at famed IMG Academy, home to some of the nation’s elite programs. In the 2021 cycle, he was one of the most highly touted quarterbacks in the country. He was ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 9 overall quarterback in America, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater also contributed to this article.