Fiesta Bowl QB Spotlight: Max Duggan and J.J. McCarthy
One of college football’s best stories this season has been the play of TCU quarterback Max Duggan. After starting the season on the bench after losing the starting job to Chandler Morris, Duggan led the Horned Frogs to an undefeated regular season and was a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy was in a similar situation to start the season for the Wolverines. McCarthy saw limited playing time in 2021 as a freshman backing up Cade McNamara. After winning the Big 10 and reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history in 2021, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh once again named McNamara the starting quarterback for the 2022 season. However, Harbaugh opted to start McCarthy for the remainder of the season after McCarthy threw for 229 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 attempts against Hawaii.
Duggan had been the starting quarterback for TCU in his first three seasons at the University under head coach Gary Patterson, but new head coach Sonny Dykes in his first season at TCU decided to start Chandler Morris in the opening game against Colorado. After Morris went down with a knee injury in the third quarter of the opening contest, Dykes turned to Duggan in his senior season to again lead the Frog offense and never turned away.
The 2022 season saw Duggan put up career high numbers in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage and completions. Duggan was the first Horned Frog to make the trip to New York City as a Heisman Trophy finalist since LaDainian Tomlinson was a finalist in 2000. Duggan finished second in the Heisman race behind USC’s Caleb Williams.
McCarthy finished the 2022 season passing for 2,376 yards, throwing 20 touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 65.3 percent of his passes.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) scrambles as Purdue linebacker Kieren Douglas defends during the first half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, in Indianapolis.
Both quarter backs are also threats in the run game. In 2022, Duggan rushed for over 400 yards and six touchdowns. McCarthy rushed for 250 yards and four touchdowns this season.
Duggan, who is a senior and hails from Council Bluffs, Iowa, is 6-foot-2 and weighs 210 pounds according to GoFrogs.com. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school according to 247 Sports.
McCarthy is in his sophomore season and is from La Grange Park, Illinois. He is 6-foot-3 and weighs 196 pounds according to mgoblue.com. He was a five-star recruit coming out of high school in 2021 and was 247 Sports’ No. 5 ranked quarter back in his class.
The two will take the field and battle Saturday December 31, 2022, inside State Farm Stadium for the right to advance to the National Championship Game January 9, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!
Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. Download the KillerFrogs app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store.
