Leading up to the coming 2023 college football season, many of the nation’s top players are being added to noted national watchlists. Included among these impressive star players are Michigan football quarterbacks JJ McCarthy (current) and Joe Milton (former), who are both being pinned as prime contenders to win the Davey O’Brien Award, which is given to the country’s best quarterback annually.

Michigan football quarterbacks JJ McCarthy, Joe Milton up for top quarterback award

Former Michigan football quarterback Joe Milton had to wait his turn during his time in the Maize and Blue — he didn’t see much action in 2018 and 2019 but finally got a shot in 2020. That said, Milton could not live up to the hype at Michigan, and after a 1-3 start to the year, he was eventually benched in favor of Cade McNamara.

Since then, Milton has transferred to the Tennessee Volunteers, where he is about to start for the first time since he was with the Wolverines nearly three years ago. Right now, just as we saw heading into the COVID-19 season, Milton is being pinned as a top player for the coming NFL Draft and a dark horse Heisman candidate.

On the other hand, JJ McCarthy is also heading into a year full of massive expectations, though he has proven himself to be worth the hype. As a first-time starter last year, McCarthy led his Wolverines to the winningest season in program history (13-1 overall) with a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth to match. This year, with more experience and development, JJ McCarthy is also being pinned as a dark horse Heisman candidate and is striving for bigger and better than ever seen before.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Publisher at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest-growing and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!