Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy projects to be among the top quarterbacks selected in the 2024 NFL Draft in April. After leading the Wolverines to their first college football national championship since 1997, McCarthy is a proven winner that will certainly grab the attention of quarterback-needy teams in the NFL. However, his former coach Jim Harbaugh, who left Michigan to become the new head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, predicts McCarthy will be taken earlier than most expect because of his overall skillset.
“Arm talent, athleticism, it-factor, winning with numbing repetition. Don’t be surprised if, when he is the No. 1 quarterback off the board,” Harbaugh said Friday on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “That’s my prediction right now. When people get a load of J.J. and how he can throw the ball, how he spins it, his athleticism, his intelligence, talk about it-factor, he’s got it. The competitiveness that he has. When they get around him and they start talking to him, that’s an early prediction for the 2024 NFL Draft.”
McCarthy finished his college career at Michigan with a 27-1 record as the starter. It is the best winning percentage by any college quarterback since Toledo’s Chuck Ealey (1971) and Oklahoma’s Jimmy Harris (1956) posted 35-0 and 25-0 records, respectively. McCarthy completed 68% of his passes for 6,226 yards and 49 touchdowns with 11 interceptions at Michigan. He also showed athleticism with 632 yards and 10 touchdowns on 161 rushing attempts.
McCarthy led Michigan to three-consecutive Big Ten championships with three-straight appearances in the College Football Playoff. He helped orchestrate a fourth-quarter comeback against Alabama in the Rose Bowl this past season that allowed to Wolverines breakthrough to the national championship game.
“I’ve said it before, but right here, this is the greatest quarterback in University of Michigan — college football history,” Harbaugh said after the Rose Bowl. “Got a long way to go to get to get where Tom Brady eventually got to, which is the GOAT. He lapped the field when it comes to that. But in a college career, there’s been nobody at Michigan better than J.J. I know we talk about an amalgamation of quarterbacks. He is that guy.”
McCarthy ranks as the No. 34 overall prospect and No. 5 quarterback in the CBS Sports 2024 NFL Draft rankings.
McCarthy rated as a four-star prospect coming out of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy in the 2021 recruiting class. The Illinois native ranked as the No. 6 quarterback and No. 38 overall recruit regardless of position nationally. McCarthy signed with Michigan over additional offers from Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Purdue, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, Wisconsin and many others.
RELATED (VIP): Trio of Michigan coaches stop by school of five-star target
The 2024 NFL Draft is set for April 25-27 in Detroit.
