Newsstand: Michigan hosts 154 NFL staff members at pro day
Tweets Of The Day
Ann Arbor, Michigan, was the place to be Friday, with the Wolverines holding their pro day. One hundred and fifty four NFL staff members were at Glick Fieldhouse to watch Michigan prospects work out ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. That included nine general managers, 11 coordinators, seven head coaches and over 100 scouts and player personnel staff.
Former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh — now the head man of the Los Angeles Chargers — was in the building. Harbaugh led the Maize and Blue to a 15-0 season and national championship last year, the final of his ninth campaign in charge of his alma mater. He was a first-round draft pick himself in 1987, going to the Chicago Bears. He spent 15 years in the NFL.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was impressive during his throwing session, including with his 65-yard bomb on the run.
“I thought his workout went very well,” ESPN analyst Matt Miller said on SportsCenter. “It was a 25-minute throwing session around 60 throws. And I think my biggest takeaway was it was better than his performance at the NFL scouting combine was there. We saw him struggle at times throwing to his left, struggled a little bit with touch throws today. It was crisp. He missed, I counted two misses.
“I think he would tell you he maybe missed three or four of those, where I thought those were drops, but it was super clean. And I think showed the arm talent. The velocity was absolutely there. There were times where he’s rolling, throwing off platform. There was a great deep throw off his back foot while on the roll, showing you some of the arm strength that he has.”
Continued the analyst of the former Michigan star: “But when I talked to J.J., he wanted to hit the touch passes. He wanted to hit the deep outs. He wanted to hit some of the underneath option routes. Those were perfect today. And I think that is a big step up from what we saw in Indianapolis. Now the test will come with the private workouts that he has with NFL teams, but the momentum is still very much building.
“And I talked to a GM today. There were plenty of them here who think that he is still in play very much as a top-six pick in this year’s draft.”
Quote Of The Day
“I just wanted to showcase the questions they had about out-breaking throws to the left and putting some air on the deep post and stuff like that. I felt like I did that today and was pretty confident with that showing.”
— Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy on pro day
Headlines Of The Day
• EJ Holland, The Wolverine: Top 100 ATH Eric Winters talks relationship with Brian Jean-Mary, plans to visit Michigan
• Anthony Broome, The Wolverine: Inside J.J. McCarthy’s Pro Day performance: Early feedback, more
• Anthony Broome, The Wolverine: J.J. McCarthy dishes on Michigan OC Kirk Campbell as a playcaller: ‘One of the most knowledgeable guys in the country’
• Clayton Sayfie, The Wolverine: Reading between the lines: Sherrone Moore staff moves, Sean Magee’s impact, emerging leaders, more
• Anthony Broome, The Wolverine: NFL Network: Why J.J. McCarthy needs to ‘show off’ at Michigan’s Pro Day
