Wolverine Digest

BREAKING: J.J. McCarthy to be honorary captain for Michigan football against Oregon

Trent Knoop

Melanie Maxwell / USA TODAY NETWORK

Arguably the best quarterback in Michigan football history will return to Ann Arbor on Saturday to watch his Wolverines take on the top-ranked Oregon Ducks, per Brad Galli. It comes one week after guys like Brandon Peters, Drake Harris, oh, and Blake Corum were on the sideline to watch the Wolverines play Michigan State last weekend.

Both Corum and McCarthy were two players who helped instill the culture that helped shape the Wolverines' three-year Playoff run, three-straight wins over Ohio State, and win a National Championship last season against Washington.

McCarthy is still healing from the torn meniscus that he suffered in the preseason while playing for the Minnesota Vikings. McCarthy, the 10th-overall pick in this April's NFL Draft, was expected to take the reigns at quarterback sometime this season. Instead, he will likely become Minnesota's starting quarterback next season.

Here are some tidbits on McCarthy to show just how great he was at Michigan, thanks to MGoBlue:

• Top-10 Heisman Trophy Finisher (10th, 2023)
• Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year (2023)
• Two-time All-Big Ten selection (consensus first team, 2023; third team, coaches, second team, media in 2022)
• Two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2022-23)
• Finalist, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2023); Manning Quarterback Award (2023)• Semifinalist, Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award (2022)
• Tournament of Roses 2023 Rose Bowl Game Offensive MVP
• Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 16, 2023) and Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 23, 2023)
• Named the team's Offensive Player of the Year (2022), Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player (2023)
• Shared Offensive Rookie of the Year honors (2021)
• Three-time letterman (2021-22-23)
• Finished his career with a 27-1 record as a starter, the best winning percentage (96.4) by any college quarterback since Toledo's Chuck Ealey (1971) and Oklahoma's Jimmy Harris (1956) ended their careers with 35-0 and 25-0 records, respectively
• Finished his career tied for fourth in career touchdown passes (49), sixth in touchdown percentage (6.87)• Career program leader in interception rate (1.54), completion percentage (67.6), pass efficiency (160.5), and touchdown-to-interception ratio (min. 20 TD passes; 4.5:1)
• Set single-season program records for interception rate (1.20) and completion percentage (72.3) in 2023, finishing second in pass efficiency (167.4) and touchdown passes (22)
• Appeared in 40 games at quarterback with 28 starts

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP