Michigan football is rallying around elite leader JJ McCarthy

Since the 2020 season concluded, numerous coaches (including Jim Harbaugh), players, and analysts have taken note of the drastic culture change in Ann Arbor. After a 2-4 finish, Michigan football has rallied itself to two-straight wins over Ohio State, Big Ten Championship victories, and College Football Playoff appearances. This year, with a third-straight elite season on their minds, the Wolverines are rallying behind one of the best leaders in college football: junior quarterback JJ McCarthy.

Michigan football rallying around elite quarterback

JJ McCarthy is off to a hot start this year — he has completed over 87% of his passes for 558 yards, five touchdowns, no picks, and a nation-leading 95.3 QBR heading into Week 3 of the season. Still, that is not what makes the junior Michigan football quarterback so special; rather, it’s his ability to lead the Wolverines.

It has been a noisy year for the Michigan football program; in fact, Jim Harbaugh is still suspended for one more game of the 2023 season. Yet, the Wolverines have seemed largely unbothered by the outside noise, in large part due to the team’s incredible leadership structure. While JJ McCarthy is not a captain this year — he is ineligible since he is only a junior — the second-year starting quarterback has become the centerpiece that Michigan is rallying behind right now.

What did Jim Harbaugh say about his junior QB?

Yesterday, Jim Harbaugh addressed the media — here is what he had to say about JJ McCarthy and his ability to lead this year’s Michigan football team.

“You know, it’s always been in a lot of ways,” Jim Harbaugh said of JJ McCarthy and his leadership style. “He’s an igniter. He sets the tone, no matter what he’s doing with his energy. It’s always by example. It’s always infectious, it’s always encouraging, and the thing that stands out the most is he’s about the team.”

JJ McCarthy is about nothing but the team

Junior quarterback JJ McCarthy is an elite quarterback at one of the top universities and college football programs in the country; however, that does not seem to get to his head. According to Harbaugh, JJ is about the team and others, and never about himself.

“He never comes off about himself, and he’s willing to do anything for anybody on the entire team,” Jim Harbaugh continued. “No matter what, I don’t know how it works in other businesses, but in football, what your antenna always tries to pick up, or the first thing it tries to pick up, what’s in another man’s heart? Is he about us? Or is he about himself? And human beings have really good antennae for that. They say a dog has really good antennae. Is the person gonna feed him, gonna be nice to him, gonna treat him well, not treat him well? Dogs are really good at that, human beings are about 900 times better at picking that up than a dog.

“JJ is just — he’s that kind of guy,” he said. “He will take others, and he’ll raise them up and lower himself to raise a teammate up as opposed to the guy who pushes other people down and raises themselves up. And I truly believe when it comes to leadership for a quarterback, that’s the secret, you know? And every guy knows. Every guy knows what’s in JJ’s heart. He’s not about himself, he’s about the team.”

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