Reasons Why JJ McCarthy will Start for Michigan
Michigan will take the field against Western Michigan in 97 days but no one knows who will be quarterbacking the Wolverines on that day. Redshirt sophomore Cade McNamara, true freshman JJ McCarthy and incoming graduate transfer Alan Bowman are expected to battle it out for the right to start. All three have talent and all three probably think they can be the guy. It's going to come down to who moves the chains, who takes care of the ball and who gains the trust of the rest of the team. Here's why it'll be McCarthy...
1. Talent
McCarthy is young, but he's got the most arm talent and is the best runner out of the three quarterbacks battling for the starting spot. He was considered a dual-threat quarterback for a while, and even though he's not that, he can definitely move the chains with his legs and could be effective on zone reads and designed quarterback runs. He is slight, but speed wise he's good to go. He also has an extremely live arm. He can throw on the run very well and has no problem with accuracy from several different arm angles. He might not be described as having a rocket for an arm, but the ball really jumps off of his hand and he doesn't need a lot of space to put plenty of zip on the ball. There's a reason he was one of the best quarterback prospects in the 2021 class and Michigan fans can't wait to see him in action because of it.
2. Confidence
The kid is a winner, a competitor and a worker. All of that makes him extremely confident in what he does and gives him the mentality of an older quarterback who has been starting in college for years. As a freshman, sophomore and junior, McCarthy led Nazareth Academy to three straight state championship game appearances with one win (as a sophomore) and then led IMG Academy to an undefeated season and national title last year against some of the best high school teams in the country. He just flat out gets it done and knows that he flat out gets it done.
3. Future Implications
This reason is the most interesting because it depends completely on Jim Harbaugh and the coaching staff. Let's say Bowman, McNamara and McCarthy are all pretty close — why not led the youngster get his feet wet and build for the future? Let him be the guy, earn the trust of his guys and start working toward being a star as a junior and senior. That's probably not the most likely scenario, but a lot of fans would be fine with that approach and it does make some sense.
