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LOOK: JJ McCarthy posts cryptic IG story amid quarterback battle

On3 imageby: Andrew Graham09/03/22AndrewEdGraham
On3 image
Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The quarterback competition at Michigan is only ratcheting up in intensity after Jim Harbaugh opted to play both Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy on Saturday. Previously, the plan was to let McNamara start and play the opener, with McCarthy taking over for Week 2 before a final decision was made ahead of Week 3.

But with Michigan well in control against Colorado State, Harbaugh opted to insert McCarthy into the contest for some significant playing time. After the game, the sophomore signal caller shared a cryptic post to his Instagram story, as noted by Brad Galli on Twitter.

With McCarthy looking potentially to be the better option already — ahead of his preordained start next weekend — it’s fair to wonder how the quarterback decisions are rippling through the Michigan locker room, for good and bad. How he fares against Hawai’i now looms that much larger.

Harbaugh offered a general assessment of McCarthy and McNamara’s play on Saturday

McNamara finished 9-for-18 passing for 136 yards and a touchdown, though 61 of those yards came on an impressive individual play from receiver Roman Wilson who took a screen pass to the house. And, as Harbaugh said, McNamara wasn’t helped out by his receivers, who dropped several catchable passes. And Michigan held a 23-0 lead at half — something Harbaugh noted the quarterback deserves a share of credit for.

When McCarthy played, his dynamic ability at the position was evident — his first non-handoff was a keeper that he took 20 yards for a score. He finished 4-of-4 passing on some simple looks.

“Yeah, I mean things were operating really smooth in the first half and you know, I finally said, ‘Ah, let’s get JJ in there.’ And he was electric when he got in. No question about that,” Harbaugh said. “Thought that he also went through his reads very well. Great to see him, just really super calm, cool, collected. I thank that he’s been conveying that he’s greatly — he’s doing a great job, too. And really improved a lot, as you would expect from going through your freshman year to your sophomore year.”