Michigan's JJ McCarthy Looking To Become True Dual-Threat In 2023

Entering his junior season in Ann Arbor, Michigan's JJ McCarthy says he'll be looking to use his legs more in 2023.

There's no denying that JJ McCarthy's first year as a starter at Michigan was a successful one. The sophomore quarterback helped lead the Wolverines to a 13-1 overall record that included a road win over Ohio State, a Big Ten Championship and a second consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff. 

Although he was impressive throughout the season, it was also clear that McCarthy still had plenty of room to grow as a quarterback. 

Meeting with the media at the start of fall camp, McCarthy indicated that he's spent a considerable amount of reviewing his tape from last season, and that one of the ways he's looking to grow is by utilizing his running ability more. Ironically, McCarthy was the third leading rusher for Michigan last season, finishing the year with 306 yards and five touchdowns on 70 attempts. Heading into his junior season, he's looking to do even more damage with his legs. 

“God has given me this great ability to use my legs, I've got to use them more," McCarthy said. "And just being more meshed with the receivers and the chemistry, and knowing, ‘OK, this guy’s a little bit faster than this guy. So we got to put a little bit less on ball,’ little stuff like that. It’s just a lot of reevaluating the little stuff and getting back to playing on time and in rhythm.”

While becoming more of a dual-threat quarterback is certainly something that could help the Wolverine offense, there's no doubt that it increases the risk of injury to Michigan's QB1. McCarthy addressed that possibility directly, and indicated that he has all the confidence in the world when it comes to the other quarterbacks on the roster.

“I hear you with that, outside looking in, but I see what those guys do on a day-to-day basis,” McCarthy said. “And I trust any one of those guys to fill in if, God forbid, anything bad happens with that. I know that the team is going to be in the right spot, and we got a lot of guys around that can help them out.”