J.J. McCarthy recently loaded up on Michigan gear.
The Nazareth sophomore quarterback acknowledged that he only had one long-sleeve Michigan shirt in his wardrobe, but that changed on May 11 after an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor.
That’s when McCarthy, a talented sophomore quarterback at Nazareth, committed to the Wolverines and coach Jim Harbaugh. He said he also was considering Northwestern.
“My drawers are full of ‘Michigan’ now,” McCarthy said. “That was a big hit.”
As the nation’s No. 2 pro-style quarterback and the No. 19 overall prospect in the recruiting class of 2021, according to 247Sports.com, McCarthy had plenty of offers. The four-star recruit chose Michigan over offers from Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, LSU and Texas, among others. He had more than 30 total offers.
“A month ago, when I visited Michigan for the first time, I caught that feeling that's indescribable that all quarterbacks talk about,” McCarthy said. “It was between them and Northwestern. I visited Northwestern three times, so I thought I should go see Michigan for a second time.”
McCarthy said he immediately realized Michigan was the right choice for him during his second visit. He’s excited to work with Harbaugh, a longtime NFL quarterback, and wear the maize and blue.
McCarthy said he’s even comfortable joking with Harbaugh and, yes, the former Michigan and Chicago Bears quarterback was wearing khaki pants.
McCarthy said Harbaugh started jumping and screaming when he committed.
“He’s an awesome dude,” McCarthy said of Harbaugh. “I’m very comfortable with him. He’s confident in himself and has his own style of developing quarterbacks. I love his style.
“Michigan just had that family feel. It has a lot of tradition in football, and there’s just something about playing in the Big House. I’ve never been to a game there. I love that pressure. You can’t make diamonds without pressure.”
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound McCarthy put his name on the national recruiting radar after receiving a scholarship from Iowa State while he was in eighth grade. In his first varsity season, McCarthy passed for 3,289 yards and 36 touchdowns and threw only four interceptions to guide the Roadrunners to a Class 7A state championship this season.
McCarthy, 16, did have one snag during his commitment: He couldn’t initially get in touch with Nazareth coach Tim Racki.
Racki was supervising the school’s prom.
“I couldn’t get ahold of him right way, because he was watching my brothers dance the night away,” McCarthy said. “But he knew prior that I was thinking of commitment. It was just more of a congratulations (call).”
Racki said he eventually got in touch with his quarterback.
“For me, it was like a sitcom that night,” he said. “I knew it might be going down, but it happened during prom. I was doing meet-and-greets. I see the text, saw that he tried to call me, but I was busy with the prom.
“I called J.J., told him how proud of him I am. It was just so impressive how he handled his whole recruiting. It’s something I could use as a coach for the younger kids. He’s been nothing but gracious, poised and respectful. It was a difficult decision for a sophomore to make.”