ESPN Analyst “Concerned” About Michigan Football Quarterback

On the first day of 2024, the No. 1 Wolverines and No. 4 Crimson Tide will do battle in the Rose Bowl game with a chance to advance to the national championship game. It has been a long road here for Michigan football quarterback JJ McCarthy and his team, though with a 13-0 record and a Big Ten title (for the second year in a row), there is no doubt that the Maize and Blue earned their CFP bid this fall. Still, Dan Mullen — a former SEC head coach and current ESPN analyst — recently explained that he is concerned about Michigan’s level of QB play.

ESPN analyst Dan Mullen is “concerned” about Michigan football quarterback

For a good portion of the 2023 season, JJ McCarthy has been a top 5 leader in the Heisman Trophy race. Of course, an injury against Penn State seemed to drop McCarthy out of the race, though he played just fine against Ohio State and should be back to 100% heading into the Rose Bowl, seeing as he has a month to get healthy.

Still, despite all of the success that Michigan football and JJ McCarthy have seen throughout the year, Dan Mullen is not confident that the QB play will be good enough to beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

“I am very concerned, when you do get into the playoffs — and the reason that we have (Florida State) out: they don’t have a quarterback with experience that can throw the football to elite skill players,” Mullen said. “Well, Florida State probably has better skill (players) than Michigan has right now, and JJ McCarthy has disappeared at times. And that is a legitimate concern for (Michigan) at times — in these games, if you need your quarterback to put (the team) on his back and win, I don’t know if (McCarthy) can do that.”

JJ McCarthy fought through injury to boost Michigan to 13-0. Staff seems unfazed by outside noise and critics

Again, before his injury, JJ McCarthy was among the nation’s leaders — even coming in at No. 1 for a few weeks — in the Heisman Trophy race. That said, the Michigan football quarterback sustained an injury at the beginning of a crucial stretch for the Maize and Blue, facing three of the top-four defenses in college football (Penn State, Ohio State, and Iowa). In fact, over the past month, the only top-4 defense that Michigan did not face was its own (ranked No. 1).

So, while ESPN analyst Dan Mullen — and perhaps others in the media that do not closely follow Michigan football — appear concerned with JJ McCarthy heading into the Rose Bowl against Alabama, offensive play-caller Sherrone Moore and head coach Jim Harbaugh seem to be anything but worried about their junior quarterback.

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