Why Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy draws a smiley face on his hand for every game

Michigan Wolverines football sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy exudes positivity. Head coach Jim Harbaugh says he’s unflappable and doesn’t get flustered.

McCarthy says the Michigan team, which Harbaugh has labeled as “happy warriors,” “has so much joy playing this game.”

Credit McCarthy for setting the tone with that mentality. The starting signal-caller has led Michigan to a 13-0 record, the Big Ten championship and another College Football Playoff appearance. He’s been a talking point within the sport all season, but his 4-touchdown performance against Ohio State really established him as one of the country’s most well-known players.

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Watch McCarthy on a fall Saturday afternoon and notice something unique about his left hand. Before each game, he draws a large smiley face on it. Appearing on the Rich Eisen Show ahead of the Wolverines’ matchup with TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, McCarthy revealed the story behind the tradition.

“That started my sophomore year in high school, and it was the first game that I lost,” McCarthy explained. “It was a brutal game, not going to lie. Nothing was going our way, and I was pretty pissed off throughout the whole game.

“I was signing autographs at the end for a lot of the kids. And this little girl — I was signing her paper, and she said, ‘Why’d you look so mad out there? It didn’t look like you were having any fun.’ It was one of those conversations that didn’t feel real, because it was really profound for this young girl.

“She was just like, ‘you need to smile more. You need to have fun.’ And she kept saying that, and she drew a smiley face on my hand when I gave her the Sharpie back.

“From then on, I was like, you know what? It’s really that simple: You perform your best when you’re having fun. When you’re stressed and resisting your own inner world, then things are going to be out of whack and not aligned with your performance and your optimal play.

“From then on, I just kept a smiley face on my hand. We went undefeated, won the state championship that year, and I was just like, you know what? This is a really subtle, small gesture that will be very profound later in life, being able to spread positivity in any way I can.”

Once and a while, the Michigan quarterback admitted, he has to remind himself to stay positive.

“It brings me back to that moment,” McCarthy explained. “It brings me back to sophomore year, when you’re not really playing for anything, just your pride for your school and your pride for yourself. You’re playing ball at the end of the day. It’s just you and your guys, the same 120-yard field and the same plays, just drawn up in different ways. More complex, more details, but it’s really just the same game at the end of the day. It just kind of grounds me a little bit.”

McCarthy has used that smiley face as a logo for his brand. 100% of the proceeds from those items to go his foundation, J.J. For The Kids.

J.J. McCarthy was talking to his ‘younger self’ during Ohio State win

Michigan was down junior running back Blake Corum, the team’s MVP who played just five snaps, Nov. 26 at Ohio State. He’s since been ruled out for the season with a left knee injury.

McCarthy had more on his plate, and delivered in a big way in the 45-23 win in Columbus. He completed 12 of his 24 passes for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns, and ran 6 times for 27 yards and a key score.

“It was almost like a conversation with my younger self the whole week,” McCarthy said. “It was almost a movie-like moment, where it was something I was looking forward to for so long. It was finally here, and it felt weird.

“But when I was out there, it was just talking to my younger self, like, ‘You prepared for this since you were in fifth grade. This is everything you wanted, and it’s right here. It’s given to you. Take advantage of that opportunity.’

“And it was just repeating that mantra in my head, taking advantage of that opportunity. With Blake being out, with [sophomore running back Dono[van Edwards] being short-handed, pun intended, the opportunity was just right there for the taking. Being able to stay present in that moment and not get too caught up in my head and my mental dialogue, that was just kind of my main focus throughout the game.”