Jim Harbaugh Compares J.J. McCarthy To Former College Legend
J.J. McCarthy is off to a hot start in his junior season in Ann Arbor. He is the most accurate quarterback in the country through two weeks. McCarthy has completed 87.3% of his passes and has thrown for 558 yards and five touchdowns.
After the 35-7 win against UNLV on Saturday, McCarthy was asked who he tries to style his game after. He immediately said Joe Burrow.
So who does Jim Harbaugh compare McCarthy to? Harbaugh's former college quarterback he coached at Stanford, Andrew Luck.
Luck was the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He was a two-time All-American at Stanford and was the Heisman runner-up in 2011.
"I hate to compare, right," Harbaugh questions. "Because he's very much like Andrew Luck, a quarterback that's once in a generation. I knew it first with Andrew Luck the way he took the field for his first practice as a true freshman. The way he walks on. You see it with other players. Just the presence that they have when they walk onto the field and the first time getting into the quarterback position, the presence that they have you go, ah-ha, there it is. J.J. first day he walked onto the practice field here at Michigan, that is what came to mind. This is very Andrew Luck-like. The presence and the demeanor. The everything. Well-documented, I think J.J. is a once-in-a-generation quarterback here at Michigan or anywhere."
Harbaugh, like usual, gave props to a lot of players as to why the Michigan offense is humming along. But, the passing attack is on another level right in Ann Arbor and it's because of the former five-star recruit.
Harbaugh flat out said McCarthy is phenomenal and he's throwing NFL-caliber passes.
"J.J. is phenomenal," said Harbaugh. "So on fire. So on point in the throws he is making from the pocket, doing severe damage when he does leave the pocket. Keeps his eyes downfield. Getting big chunk plays and yardage....The kind of throws he's making, too, they're NFL-caliber throws. Into tight windows. The accuracy is off the charts. He's putting balls six inches in front of the number, even the throws that are covering 30-40 yards, they're right on the number."
East Carolina and UNLV both sold out to stop the Michigan game, and it mostly worked, but it allowed McCarthy to tear up their secondaries. It will be interesting to see what Bowling Green and future opponents to do to scheme the Wolverines' offense. If they try to drop more into coverage, then Michigan has a chance to unleash its run game, but if they continue to clog up the lanes and stop the Michigan run game -- McCarthy should continue to do his thing.
