Latest Michigan football quarterback buzz: “Don’t break the stallion”

Last weekend, Bowling Green came to Ann Arbor for the Wolverines’ final non-conference game of the 2023 regular season. There, the Falcons all but shut down junior Michigan football quarterback JJ McCarthy, who had back-to-back incredible performances during the two weeks prior. Following his three-interception performance, head coach Jim Harbaugh says not much is going to change with JJ and his role on the offense — “do not break the stallion,” as Harbaugh says.

Latest Michigan football quarterback buzz

JJ McCarthy threw three interceptions against a MAC team over the weekend, which was an alarming sight for Michigan football fans as the team heads into Big Ten play this weekend. McCarthy, who led the Maize and Blue to a Big Ten title and CFP appearance during his first season as the full-time starter last fall, is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the nation, and the coaching staff still has full confidence in his ability.

After the game, Sherrone Moore expressed his faith in the junior Michigan football quarterback. Additionally, Jim Harbaugh addressed the media yesterday and went on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show, where he doubled down on his desire to have McCarthy slinging it around with all of the confidence in the world.

“But what we have in (JJ McCarthy) is, yeah, he’s everything you want, in terms of the competitor, the gunslinger, everything that, boy, you just don’t want to coach out of him,” Jim Harbaugh said of his former five-star quarterback. “Do not break the stallion, do not make him a victim of over-coaching. I’m glad I’m in the position to coach him because I know where he’s going. I’ve been to this movie, I’ve seen this before. He’s great.”

Jim Harbaugh points out a change that he does want to see JJ McCarthy make

That said, there is one thing that Jim Harbaugh wants his impressive Michigan football quarterback to change.

“One thing that I do want him to do, when he’s running the ball, when he goes down, he can’t break his fall with an off arm,” the Michigan football coach said. “You gotta go down line a no-arm man, where those arms are on the ball or protecting the ball. And you can ask him, that’s the biggest thing about his game that I told him that definitely needs to change.”

This weekend, Jim Harbaugh makes his return to Michigan football following a three-game suspension. He and quarterback JJ McCarthy will be taking the field together once again, this time, kicking off Big Ten play against Rutgers — the Wolverines are currently 25-point favorites with an 85% chance of victory, per the FPI.

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