Everything Jim Harbaugh said about J.J. McCarthy during spring ball presser

“I look at J.J.’s first whole first season as a starter and all the things he faced.” Harbaugh said. “Good, bad, cheered, booed. Hit run, throw — everything he did, it’s about as good as you could be. First-year starter, no question about it. I don’t think anybody’s ever seen anything — I haven’t seen anything like that, first-year starting quarterback. 13-0 on Christmas and we’ve never been undefeated at Christmas. And then I call that a season for him.”

Harbaugh continued, “The TCU game in its itself I think was practically like a whole season of experience. Because of all the things that happened. Behind, come back, really behind, come back, really good. Every up-down hit. He was just in so many football situations in that game, it was almost like a whole season. So it was really good. And I think that’s our answer. Or even to (the other) question — this happens, that happens, the other thing happens. This program has become like — good. OK, we lost that game, but it drives us, it makes us even more hungry. Something else comes up — good. We’ll work on that, we’ll fix that. It’s a place right now.”

“One analogy I can make to it, just how good in terms a culture, a family that this Michigan football program is, it’s almost in my mind like some of those housing markets have become recession-proof, and they’re just as good no matter what’s coming from the outside of here. I just see everybody here. It’s almost like what a superhero — an attack comes in, it’s like we’re able to absorb it, spit it back out in some kind of laser fashion. You just see the way they attack the next day and every day. It’s phenomenal to be around on a day-to-day basis.”

Coach adds that J.J. McCarthy is unquestionably Michigan’s starter

“J.J. McCarthy is the starting quarterback.” Jim Harbaugh said. “Tremendous physical ability and athletic ability and in every single way that you would want your quarterback. The rare thing is that he would sacrifice anything for any player on this team. Personally, he’s just so willing to do whatever is best for the team. I would follow him anywhere. Happily. I suggest that all players on our team do the same thing. He’s just really, really good at it.”

“As far as anything you tell him, I mean, any coaching point that you give, he just he absorbs it and will make the correction immediately. It’s tremendous.”

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