Michigan football has a “generational” talent at quarterback, says Jim Harbaugh

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. — Today, Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh took to the podium for Big Ten Media Day. There, the Wolverines’ 9th-year head coach broke down many aspects of his program, including its elite quarterback, JJ McCarthy, who is heading into his second full season as Michigan’s starter. According to Harbaugh, McCarthy is a “generational” talent for the Wolverines.

Jim Harbaugh says JJ McCarthy is a “generational” talent for Michigan football

Last year, during Week 2 of the season, Michigan football saw a new quarterback take over: JJ McCarthy, the Wolverines’ former five-star QB commit from the class of 2021. Now, heading into a new season this fall, JJ McCarthy appears poised for a major season in the Maize and Blue — perhaps even leading his team to its first national title since the 1997 season. According to Jim Harbaugh, McCarthy has been developing at a fast rate and should be an impressive quarterback for Michigan this fall.

“Well, talking about J.J McCarthy, the first year he played as a true freshman in games sparingly, became a full-time starter in 2022,” Jim Harbaugh said at Big Ten Media Day on Thursday. “I have searched my memory for somebody who’s been a first-time starter and had a better first year as a first-time starter, and I can’t come up with one.

“He’s a once-in-a-generation type of quarterback at Michigan, and his progress continues to grow daily,” Harbaugh continued. “He’s at the top of his game right now, really in all aspects. Everything that the does athletically, everything he does throwing the football, are at the elite level. And then the thing I think that makes him the most special, that differentiating good and great, is that he’s just willing to do anything for his teammates, anything for his team.”

With a lot on the line for Michigan football right now, the Wolverines need JJ McCarthy to live up to the hype this fall. If he does turn out to be a generational talent, as Jim Harbaugh suggests, the Wolverines could three-peat as Big Ten Champions and make a third straight push for the national title, just as they have done in the two seasons prior.

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