'The time is now': J.J. McCarthy's text message to Michigan teammates before Penn State

Michigan Wolverines football has cruised through the first nine games of the season, winning all of them by 24 or more points. The Maize and Blue will play against a ranked opponent for the first time this Saturday, with Penn State standing No. 9 in the Associated Press poll. Junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy will lead them into battle in his 35th career game and 23rd collegiate start.

A Heisman Trophy contender, McCarthy is completing 76 percent of his passes for 2,134 yards and 18 touchdowns with 3 picks this season. He’s experienced and talented, considered a potential first-round NFL Draft pick next spring, and there’s nobody head coach Jim Harbaugh would rather have behind center, saying the 6-3, 202-pounder’s leadership and play are “at an elite level.”

“‘What’s his demanor like?’ People ask me that,” Harbaugh said on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show. “People I’ve watched, it’d be [former Michigan and NFL legend] Tom Brady in his preparation and it’d be [former NFL quarterback] Jim McMahon with the fun and the exuberance and how much fun he has when he plays. It would be a blend of those two guys. Can’t say enough good things.”

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The Michigan offense put up 41 points but went through a lull in the middle of a 41-13 win over Purdue last weekend. McCarthy missed on a few throws, and there were a couple drops by his receivers. His 65 completion percentage was 13 points fewer than his mark on the season entering last Saturday, showing how high the standard has become. McCarthy said he welcomes criticism and ‘nitpicking’ from the coaches, and he demands himself that the group reaches a high bar every week.

Heading into a big game against the Nittany Lions, McCarthy sent out a message to some of his teammates on offense.

“Just as a leader, I feel like this last game wasn’t the standard that we hold ourselves to as an offense,” the Michigan quarterback said on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show. “A lot of the other leaders on the offense addressed it right away, and I sent something out to the receivers and stuff like that: ‘The time is now. All the work that we’ve been putting in since this winter, it all leads up to this. Nothing that we’ve done this entire season means anything.’

“Just making sure the guys are on the same page, attacking practice every day, never taking a rep off and appreciating the opportunity that we have and letting them know that this is an opportunity we need to capitalize on.

“Just throughout the week, knowing that this is a team that’s going to want to take us down. There’s nothing else to lose. It’s just one of those games where it’s like, we really have to stay emotionally locked in, mentally locked in throughout all four quarters. It’s going to be really big in practice this week to emphasize that.”

McCarthy has matured as a quarterback and leader throughout his career at Michigan. This year’s game against Bowling Green was a learning experience, with McCarthy throwing 3 interceptions after putting too much pressure on himself and turning one mistake into two (and two into three).

“Next-play mentality is the biggest thing I learned from that game,” McCarthy said. “If something goes wrong, flush it and move on to the next one.”

Having an even-keeled quarterback in a hostile environment like Beaver Stadium will bode well for Michigan Saturday.

“The biggest thing is emotionally … I’m able to regulate my emotions a hell of a lot better than I was when I was just starting,” McCarthy said of how he’s evolved since earning the starting job at the beginning of the 2022 season. “Just not getting too high with the highs, too low with the lows and always staying neutral the whole time — and I think that pays off big time in these big games.”

“He’s been there and done that — in Columbus, Ohio, the first [Michigan] quarterback to get a win in Columbus since [Drew Henson in] 2000,” Harbaugh said of McCarthy. “So, he’s ready. He’ll be prepared, just like he is every week. He doesn’t ever have a fall-off week, he doesn’t have one where he’s disrespectful to the opponent that we’re playing. The same locked in, Tom Brady-like preparation is the way this week has started. But definitely big game, bounce in everybody’s step around Schembechler Hall.”

McCarthy is 33-of-44 passing on third down this season. He was 19-of-20 on 3rd and 7 or longer heading into the game against Purdue, nearly perfect. Third downs have been a big difference-maker for Michigan this season, due in large part to McCarthy.

“That’s when it matters most,” he said. “And we take so much pride in that throughout the week, just with the preparation on those critical downs. That makes or breaks football games, especially coming down the stretch in those big games when those four points between a field goal and a touchdown are going to be big.

“We take a lot of pride in that and we made sure throughout the year that when the big games come we’re going to be dialed in on that and be ready, and it’ll just be another game in the park.”

McCarthy is honored to be in the Heisman Trophy conversation, but the Michigan quarterback brushes the talk off and is only focused on winning.

“I just use this analogy of an apple tree,” McCarthy began. “The more you water the apple tree roots, the more apples are going to fall. And I treat that talk as just apples stolen from that tree. It’s great and all, but it’s all because of the team success. Obviously, I’m playing pretty good out there, but I wouldn’t be able to do it without all of the other 10 guys on the field out there with me and the other 11 out there on defense and special teams. It’s all about the team.”