Jim Harbaugh on J.J. McCarthy's unselfishness, offensive lineman who's 'gotta play more'

Two things are true about Michigan Wolverines football junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy this season: 1) he’s played extremely well by most metrics and 2) ranks 70th in the country with only 214.2 passing yards per game.

McCarthy plays in Michigan’s pro-style offense, which features a strong run game. The second-ranked Wolverines have also blown out all five opponents, and McCarthy has been pulled in the third quarter in almost all of them. He’s thrown just 4 passes in the fourth quarter through five outings.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has been impressed with his quarterback’s play — he said McCarthy “makes the whole thing go,” referring to the U-M offense — but also his selflessness in prioritizing winning and not getting caught up by stats.

“So unselfish,” Harbaugh said on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show. “There are quarterbacks that are in the discussion, going to be first-round picks, and could be the best quarterback draft in the history of the league, and J.J. is certainly in that mix. There are Heisman Trophy conversations and other quarterbacks are throwing 4, 6 touchdowns a game. And J.J. is carrying out fakes and beating people with his legs. Just so efficient right now, and taking great pride in that. There’s no, ‘What about me? Why aren’t I getting this, that and the other thing? I’m going to get my 300 yards.’ You just don’t see that.”

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Harbaugh provided an example of McCarthy carrying out his fake, sparking a big 20-yard touchdown run by senior running back Kalel Mullings in Michigan’s 45-7 win over Nebraska over the weekend. McCarthy was efficient, with 12 completions on 16 attempts for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns to go along with a rushing score.

“Tremendous, one of his best games,” Harbaugh said. “So much to defend if you’re a defense. Even the plays where he hands off and carries out his fake on the zone read for the quarterback play, he’s pulling one to two guys. Kalel Mullings’ touchdown, there was a defender coming off free, and J.J. pulled, started to carry out out his fake, and it just stopped that corer who was coming off the edge in his tracks, just for a split second and by then Kalel was gone.”

KALEL MULLINGS CUTS BACK AND SCORES pic.twitter.com/l1B64hSq49

— Clayton Sayfie (@CSayf23) September 30, 2023

The Michigan signal-caller isn’t the only offensive player that’s going the extra mile and worried more about winning than stats.

“[Senior running back] Blake Corum’s the same way, [junior running back] Donovan Edwards, [sophomore tight end] Colston Loveland, [graduate wide receiver] Cornelius Johnson, [senior wideout] Roman Wilson,” the Michigan coach continued. “Cornelius had a couple big catches, but the way he’s blocking on the perimeter now is a thing to be seen, and it’s right up there with Roman, who continues to block well.

“You just talk about the unselfish play of all those players, at positions where it’s hard to not be selfish. That’s running back, that’s quarterback, the wide receiver position and even our offensive line. They get a lot of credit — and deservedly so — and some of the other guys that are not getting as much playing time, you should see the way they practice, too.”

Michigan to explore potential rotation on offensive line

The Michigan offensive line shined in the Nebraska victory, paving the way for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground. McCarthy wasn’t sacked, though the left side of the line allowed some pressure on a few occasions.

“LD, [graduate left tackle] LaDarius [Henderson], and [graduate left guard] Trevor Keegan graded out the highest,” Harbaugh revealed. “[Graduate center] Drake Nugent had a heck of a game. Had one of the mental errors — that was it — and then just went the wrong way on an inside zone play. [Graduate right tackle] Karsen [Barnhart] plays really good — so underrated, really good player. [Senior right guard Zak] Zinter had a good game. That’s the best, I think, our line played. You hate to use some of those words that people like to use for how good the offensive line played, but it was good. The pass protection was really good, and so was the running game — coming off the ball, moving people. It was great to see.”

In his press conference earlier in the day, the Michigan coach didn’t say whether or not he has his starting five on the offensive line solidified, after playing a new combination against Nebraska. Prior to that game, the Wolverines had senior Myles Hinton at right tackle and Barnhart on the left side. He did, however, discuss the possibility of a rotation, including with senior Trente Jones, who’s served as an extra lineman in jumbo packages and played some right tackle in reserve duty.

“I’ve seen so many combinations going back to spring ball and training camp with that offensive line that … guys could play three, four different positions, they’ve been put in so many situations just like that,” the Michigan coach explained. “Great to see Trente played, he had 33 snaps. He’s gotta play more. He’s gotta play. He’s so good, so athletic. [Junior left guard] Gio[vanni El-Hadi], [senior right guard] Jeff Persi, [sophomore left tackle] Andrew Gentry, [junior center Greg] Cripp[en] — there are a lot of good guys. They’re all ready. Working them into the game more. Maybe there’s a way to do a little bit more rotation.”

Jones has especially caught Harbaugh’s eye.

“Yeah, he’s been the sixth man, the extra O-lineman, always the next guy to go in,” the Michigan coach continued. “But he’s a really good football player.

“I know you don’t do it much on the offensive line — it’s usually five guys playing — but, boy, if your sixth and seventh and eighth are really good, there’s an opportunity, possibly, for rotating them in. Those are big guys. They’re hitting every single play. Can we get an advantage by moving things around a little bit and getting the fresh guy out there, like the fresh pass rushers that roll into a game as a rally crew? Might be some application there offensive line-wise.”