LOOK: JJ McCarthy Drops Dime During Michigan Practice

It's the first look at highly-rated quarterback JJ McCarthy in action.

Michigan football fans spent the better part of two years counting down the days until highly-rated quarterback JJ McCarthy made his way to Ann Arbor.  Now that McCarthy has finally arrived on campus, those same fans are now eager to see the former IMG product in action while wearing the winged helmet.

On Thursday, Michigan fans got the first glimpse of what they've been waiting for.

Position: Pro-style Quarterback

Ht: 6-3

Wt: 190

Hometown: La Grange Park, Ill.

High School: IMG Academy

Other Notable Offers: LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, Penn State, Wisconsin, Texas, Oklahoma State, Miami and Iowa

NFL Comp: Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers — I see a lot of similarities between Bridgewater and McCarthy. Coming out of high school Bridgewater was listed at 6-3, 185 pounds, and now tips the scales at 215. McCarthy has really started to develop physically and should continue to do so until he hits that 210-220-pound range. Neither are hulking, big-bodied guys, but they obviously have enough size to play the position at a high level. Both quarterbacks are extremely accurate and have strong arms, but wouldn't be described as having rocket arms. McCarthy throws it a little bit better on the run than Bridgewater did coming out of high school, but Bridgewater was definitely comfortable throwing on the move. Neither guys are run-first quarterbacks but both are good enough athletes to run zone read, turn a broken play into a first down and keep defenses honest.

2021 Outlook: The scouting report on McCarthy is enough for many within the Michigan fanbase to view him as a first-year starter. While McCarthy is listed as a pro-style quarterback, he has the ability to escape the pocket and is deadly accurate on the run. However, McCarthy will also enter a quarterback room that already contains returning starter Cade McNamara, Texas Tech Transfer Alan Bowman and sophomore Dan Villari. Even so, the Wolverines were never quite able to nail down a QB1 during the 2020 season, and McCarthy will certainly have a legitimate shot to make his case during spring and fall camp.