J.J. McCarthy: Past heartbreaks 'forged' Michigan's success this season

Michigan has been knocking on the championship door for the past couple of seasons. Now, with the Wolverines as close as they’ve been, J.J. McCarthy isn’t letting the value of those shortcomings go unnnoticed.

McCarthy, the Wolverines’ QB1, spoke about their recent postseason losses and their impact on them ahead of the national championship. As much as they still hurt, he says he realizes that they are the reason that Michigan is where they will be on Monday night. They made them all, including himself, better by motivating their program to never fall short again.

“You said it right there. Just everything that we went through? It forged us. Motivated us in the offseason to be better, do the extra rep, do more,” said McCarthy. “I feel like it is ultimately the pain and failure that pushes you over the hump, pushes you to limits you’ve never been.”

“When you lose a game like that, especially in the fashion that we lost? That feeling just doesn’t go away after you lose that game. It still sticks with me to this day,” McCarthy continued. “Being able to use that as an anchor when I’m sore, tired? It’s ultimately one of the best things that ever happened to me and I’m extremely grateful for it. It changed my ultimate mindset and drive.”

Michigan spent several seasons just on the outside looking in of the playoff. Then, in each of the past three seasons, the Wolverines have made the field as either the No. 2 or No. 1 seed.

Their two previous appearances did not end in glory or even with appearances in the title game. In 2021, they lost 34-11 to Georgia, the eventual champion, in the Orange Bowl as the Bulldogs put up over 500 yards of offense and forced three turnovers. Then, in 2022, the Wolverines lost a 51-45 shootout against TCU in the Fiesta Bowl as they dug themselves into a hold that they couldn’t get out of in the end.

Those defeats were clearly not pleasant experiences for anyone in their building. However, since they put Michigan on course to potentially win it all in their third shot in the playoff, McCarthy says, in hindsight, they’re something that they’re now appreciative to have went through.

“I am extremely grateful for those failures and everything it did for us,” said McCarthy. “We’re here now so, obviously, it worked.”

McCarthy speaks about his mental health journey

For J.J. McCarthy, mental health is of vital importance. He has long since emphasized its value and done his best to highlight why it matters for college football players to be aware of and embrace.

Ahead of the national title game against Washington, McCarthy shared why mental health has become so important throughout his journey in football.

“I got into it because, my senior year at IMG Academy, I was going through depression,” McCarthy said. “I was in a deep rut for myself. Studying all the athletes, their mindsets, trying to adopt them in every way to forge the ultimate mindset as a competitor. I just kept going further from myself and my true nature. I feel like it just — I was in a deep rut for about a month or two. And I was, like, ‘Something has to change. This isn’t who I am.'”

“I started looking up different practices to help improve mental health. Meditation was the first one that kept popping up. I gave it a try and the rest was history,” McCarthy said. “It’s a beautiful practice. It’s really hard at first but I recommend that people continue to press on with it and stay disciplined because the effects are tremendous.”