Getty JJ McCarthy (left) and Jim Harbaugh of Michigan football
When it comes to Michigan football rumors, one of the hottest ones going—besides the future of coach Jim Harbaugh, of course—is more of a mystery. When that mystery is your star quarterback and team MVP, it’s especially concerning. But heading into the Rose Bowl matchup against Alabama in the college football playoffs, there is concern about the late-season swoon of Wolverines quarterback JJ McCarthy.
And this week in The Athletic, anonymous coaches around the Big 10 offered up an earful to CFB writer Bruce Feldman on the Wolverines’ quivering quarterback. McCarthy was brilliant through the first nine games of the season, throwing for 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions (all of which came in the win over Bowling Green).
He threw for 237 yards per game in those nine outings. But check the numbers on JJ McCarthy since: 124 yards per game, and just one touchdown pass. He has not been the same. And Jim Harbaugh’s peers did not hold back.
“I don’t know what’s causing him to be hesitant and not as decisive as he was earlier,” said a Big Ten head coach who played Michigan. “He seems out of sync lately.”
Michigan Football: Did Sign-Stealing Affect JJ McCarthy?
One of the oddities, or maybe not-so-odd, that emerges from McCarthy’s late-season decline is that the drop in numbers coincided with the departure of Conor Stalions, the assistant who was at the center of the Wolverines’ sign-stealing “scandal.” McCarthy’s last big day was against Purdue on November 4, and Stalions departed the previous day.
“They’re different now,” another Big Ten head coach told Feldman. “It makes a huge difference to know when blitzes are coming, so when you pick it up, you can really attack it.”
There has also been the bubbling Michigan football speculation that JJ McCarthy is playing hurt, that he suffered a foot injury against Penn State. McCarthy threw only eight passes against the Nittany Lions that day. But with the UM running game steamrolling Penn State (227 yards), McCarthy did not need to pass much.
“It does make you wonder,” said one defensive analyst whose team faced Michigan in the last month of the season. “Going into our game, I thought he was among the best in the country. Afterward, I didn’t think the same. Once all that stuff happened, he just doesn’t look the same. I don’t know if he’s hurt. I thought he was a Heisman candidate. Heisman quarterbacks don’t throw only eight passes in a game. I think before, he was ready for it and he was confident.”
3 of Final 4 Opponents Were Tops in Defense
One problem that Michigan football is sure to face against Alabama is that the Crimson Tide defensive front will not be easily pushed around, even with the quality of the Michigan offensive line. But Michigan got used to that in its final three games, and criticism of the way JJ McCarthy closed the season tends to overlook that the NCAA’s top three defenses in yards allowed per play are Penn State (3.91), Iowa (3.99) and Ohio State (4.12).
Those are three of the Wolverines’ final four opponents. Alabama was 15th, at 4.94 yards allowed per play. And, remember, Jim Harbaugh was suspended for three of those games.
Certainly, Alabama is not reading too much into McCarthy’s late-season drop.
“Watching them, they’re like a real balanced team,” Alabama defensive back Malachi Moore said. “JJ McCarthy does a good job of managing their offense and setting up the offense, changing the look if you give away a blitz or something like that, checking the calls and putting his team in the best situation to win.”