From The On-Field Ability To The Off-Field Maturity, JJ McCarthy Has The Entire Package

It remains to be seen whether or not his number will be called in 2021, but it's clear that JJ McCarthy is ready whenever that time comes.

Freshman quarterback JJ McCarthy's lengthy two-year commitment helped make him a fan favorite among the Wolverine faithful. The fact that the five-star recruit was also arguably the top quarterback in the 2021 class didn't hurt his popularity either. For most, McCarthy represented the future of the quarterback position at the University of Michigan and the future couldn't come soon enough. 

Once on campus, the excitement over McCarthy only increased - as many believed that Jim Harbaugh might opt to roll with the freshman to open the season. However, the reports coming out of spring ball and fall camp seemed to suggest that McCarthy still needed time to develop, while junior quarterback Cade McNamara's stock was rising.

Though McNamara would ultimately win the starting job, it became clear quite early that Harbaugh had no intention of keeping his highly-rated freshman QB on ice. 

McCarthy made his first appearance in week one against Western Michigan, and did so in spectacular fashion. Midway through the fourth quarter and with the Wolverines leading the Broncos comfortably by a score of 40-7, McCarthy dropped back and...well...you can watch it for yourself.

This won't be the last time we watch the replay of @jjmccarthy09's first @UMichFootball TD pass. 😱 pic.twitter.com/qXym1aTDjV

— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) September 4, 2021

McCarthy was back at it again in Madison, finding Baldwin once again on a beautiful deep ball that ended in six points. 

No. 14 @UMichFootball continues to add on.

This time, it's @jjmccarthy09's first career road TD pass. 👏 pic.twitter.com/I7VEYrorRC

— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) October 2, 2021

While the talented freshman QB has certainly shown signs of something special, the reality is that the Wolverines haven't had to tap into it just yet. With McNamara at the helm, the Wolverines are off to an impressive 6-0 start and a No. 8 ranking in the AP top 25. Put simply, things are going well.

Even so, McCarthy knows that his number can be called at any moment - and he's prepared for it. 

"(A pastor at church) was talking about this one story of a kid at a concert and before he left to go to the concert, he brought his guitar pick with him," McCarthy said. "And he’s going to the concert along with 10,000 other people, 15,000 other people, and he’s got that guitar pick in his pocket the whole time. And, what do you know — I forgot which band it was — they asked, ‘Who knows this song? Come up and play this song’ And he was picked out of the crowd and had his guitar pick.

"That analogy really stuck because we’re doing everything we possibly can to get in the game. We’re not expecting to get in the game, we’re just ready no matter what. We got our guitar pick in our pocket and we’ll be ready to go when we’re called.”

In other words, JJ McCarthy is ready to rock and roll.