Michigan football: Where J.J. McCarthy, injured Wolverines stand
Michigan stayed relatively healthy this spring, but there were a few casualties. Fifth-year senior Ronnie Bell, of course, was limited. He’s still recovering from a knee injury suffered in last year’s opener against Western Michigan. Bell is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for fall camp.
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“He’s on track,” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said at the beginning of spring, noting Bell had been running in drills in which he ran “straight ahead” and was helping the young receivers.
Bell got off to a great start last year with a 76-yard touchdown and a 31-yard punt return on which he got hurt against WMU. He’s continued to improve this spring and should be full go at some point this summer.
In the secondary, Michigan sophomore safety Rod Moore, who became a starter late in the season (four games, playing in 11), had surgery for an undisclosed injury suffered last season and missed all of spring. He also contributed on special teams and notched 32 tackles with one pass break up. Redshirt frosh cornerback Ja’Den McBurrows also missed the spring after having surgery. He’s hopeful to return by fall camp after recovering from his lower body injury.
McBurrows played in four games last season, notching two tackles and recording one pass breakup. He was coming on strong and earning praise for his cover ability last year before getting hurt.
“I’m pretty sure they are,” Michigan secondary coach Steve Clinkscale said when asked if he’d have the two back for fall camp. “I’m not exactly sure the dates, but I definitely plan on getting them back for the season, of course.
“Rod showed everybody what he can do [last year], and McBurrows, we’re always trying to get him out there on the field. That one year of maturing and understanding the expectations here … I think you’ll see he’ll be a bright player, as well.”
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Michigan sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy, meanwhile, was limited this spring with soreness in his throwing shoulder that started late last year. He opted for rest to try to heal it on the advice of doctors and should be back throwing by the third week in April.
“That’s the goal, to have J.J. back 100 percent as soon as we can get him back, whenever that is,” Michigan quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss said in March. “If that’s by fall camp, great. If that’s by the end of spring, even better.
“[But] he’s doing great. He’s rehabbing, he’s doing what he’s supposed to do. I think discretion is the better part of valor in this case. We’re being very cautious, which is the smart thing to do — make sure that a small problem doesn’t become a big problem. We’ll do everything we can, give him every single resource so that he can get back to 100 percent for next season.”
Finally, third-year Michigan redshirt freshman offensive guard Reece Atteberry went down late in spring with an undisclosed injury. Talk has been that the lower body injury will likely keep him out several weeks. There’s hope, however, he’ll return healthy in time for fall camp.
The Colorado native made strides this spring playing guard after seeing action in eight games for Michigan last season. He played four games at right guard and also contributed on special teams.
