JJ McCarthy Pacing Every Quarterback In The Country
Michigan fans are excited about sophomore quarterback JJ McCarthy and with good reason. The 6-3, 196-pounder has been close to perfect throughout the first three weeks of the season, which is why he's now the starting quarterback. McCarthy is 30-of-34 for for 473 yards and three touchdowns against zero interceptions. He has also carried the ball seven times for 73 yards and another score. To say that he's been sharp is putting it mildly.
In fact, Pro Football Focus has McCarthy as the sharpest quarterback in the entire country.
As we've said before, Pro Football Focus is not the bible. They have a formula that, as far as I know, is consistent and reusable across all games no matter the roster or the matchup. However, I find it hard to believe that McCarthy has had ZERO negatively graded plays even though he has been extremely good.
In just the most recent game alone McCarthy had two questionable plays. He was visibly upset with himself early in the game on a third down zone read when he was stopped behind the line of scrimmage. He clearly should've given the ball and he knew it. Later on, he rolled right and attempted to thread the needle into the end zone but instead, the ball was nearly picked off. Maybe those plays technically weren't graded negatively because of what else McCarthy did, but they certainly weren't successful plays either.
At the end of the day, McCarthy has been nearly perfect on paper and obviously on the field as well. He hasn't had to do much and still has so much more to offer as a passer and as a runner. This weekend against Maryland, McCarthy will likely open it up a bit more as U-M tries to improve to 4-0 and 1-0 in the Big Ten.
