Michigan football: Teammates describe what J.J. McCarthy brings to field, locker room

Michigan football heads into Week 2 as a massive favorite over a hapless Hawaii squad (8 p.m. ET Saturday, Big Ten Network), but that is far from the biggest storyline. The talk of the town revolves around sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy and his first career start Saturday night in Ann Arbor.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh described him this week as “electric” for his dual-threat ability coming off a performance where he completed 4-of-4 passes for 30 yards and had 3 rushes for 50 yards and a touchdown.

During his team at Michigan, we have seen flashes of special arm talent and elite speed at the quarterback position. McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday night that he is running in the 4.5s range in the 40-yard dash.

That would be elite at a lot of positions, but especially as a passer.

With the spotlight on McCarthy this week, his Michigan teammates fielded plenty of questions about the quarterback competition and ongoing battle. One person who has been around the block is sixth-year punter Brad Robbins, who has seen plenty of signal-callers come through the program but no battle quite like this.

“Both of those guys are mature,” Robbins said on Tuesday night. “I love both of those guys. It truly is a competition. That’s what it is. Thinking back, each guy is a really good leader. That’s why we are the leaders and best, right? We are chock-full of them. Everybody on the team. It is intense. It is what it is, but I’m just happy to see both of those guys thriving.”

Robbins gave it up for both players, but thought long and spoke deliberately when asked about McCarthy’s leadership style in the Michigan locker room.

“He is very empathetic as a human being,” Robbins said. “He is able to put himself in the shoes of everybody else on the team. That is a rare skill for anyone to have. He knows what it feels like to be a punter, kicker, walk-on, scholarship guy…he’s able to develop a really close relationship with anyone he comes in contact with. That’s really rare to have as a person overall. I appreciate that and emulate that.

“[Cade McNamara] is the same way. I firmly believe that. I have developed a really good relationship with him. I’d say both of them are really empathetic as well as vocal. Demanding in the sense of high attention to detail and doing your job so others can do their job.

McCarthy is giving Michigan defenders fits

Nobody in the country has to deal more with McCarthy than Michigan’s defense. His mere presence invites extra attention to the backfield, especially in the QB run and RPO game.

“I think he definitely pulls defenders,” Harbaugh said this week. “[Defenses] have to know where he is. Our defensive coaches are the same way. There needs to be a plan. When a quarterback can run in the 4.5′s, that gets to be faster than linebackers. You gotta have a plan to contain that. You can definitely see, even if he’s carrying out a fake, somebody is paying attention.”

One of the side effects is that Michigan defenders get extra work in rush lane discipline in practice.

“You kind of got to make sure that your resume is perfect,” fifth year linebacker Mike Barrett said. “Make sure you have your edges because if he gets outside and we’re in man coverage or something he can beat you with his feet.  He’s a fast one. So he can get out of there. You think you have him but he slips out of a couple of tackles. And we’ll laugh about it. Because we can’t really tackle him or touch him in practice.

“We just have to make sure that we kind of keep an edge on and keep the pocket tight whenever. Whenever we rush in, don’t, don’t pass the quarterback, things like that. So you don’t get to escape on it. But it’s kind of something you got to kind of, you know, focus on when he’s in there.”

Junior EDGE Jaylen Harrell said: “J.J. is very elusive and very fast. Rush lanes are especially important with him. If something’s not open, he’s getting out the back gate. You had better get on your horse. He’s very fast and very elusive.”

A two-way lesson

Junior linebacker Kalel Mullings had a crash course in McCarthy in spring and fall camp. He has been part of a unit tasked with defending him, but he also received work with Michigan’s running backs. During those option plays, he learned a quick lesson and difference between the two signal-callers.

“I remember one of my first practices at running back, and it had been a few years for me, I was squeezing down on the ball to make sure I had it. I wasn’t always sure which plays were pull reads and which ones weren’t. When I was with Cade, he wouldn’t pull it as much. When I was with J.J., he went to pull it and I was squeezing down and we fumbled. I was mad at myself and all the guys were told to remember who I was playing with.

“Even playing defense, J.J. is a fast guy. You don’t always expect it, but he will take off on you in a heartbeat.”

Michigan hosts Hawaii in Week 2 at 8 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. McCarthy gets the start at quarterback with the staff set to make a further determination ahead of Week 3 versus UConn.