Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy declares for 2024 NFL Draft
Michigan Wolverines football quarterback J.J. McCarthy announced that he will forgo his final season of eligibility and head to the 2024 NFL Draft. McCarthy played three seasons at U-M, leading the Wolverines to the national championship as a junior.
McCarthy shared a farewell message on social media.
The 20-year-old was 27-1 as a starter, with that .964 win percentage standing as the best among college football quarterbacks since 1971. McCarthy is 65-3 since becoming a starting varsity high school player. He will turn 21 years old Jan. 20.
The 6-foot-3, 202-pounder was named first-team All-Big Ten and became Michigan’s first-ever winner of the Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year award this season. He completed 240 of his 332 passes (72.2 percent) for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. He added 64 rushes for 202 yards and 3 scores.
McCarthy led the Maize and Blue to the Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff victories over Alabama (27-20 in overtime in the Rose Bowl) and Washington (34-13 in the title game in Houston). They also beat Ohio State, 30-24, their third-straight triumph over the hated rival that McCarthy revered as a youth.
Following the Rose Bowl, head coach Jim Harbaugh said McCarthy is the best college quarterback in program history.
He wasn’t eligible to be a team captain — only seniors and graduate students were — but McCarthy has been credited as being one of the Michigan team’s top leaders. Joining the program after the Wolverines hadn’t beaten Ohio State since 2011, won the Big Ten since 2004 and posted a 2-4 record in 2020, McCarthy and his class are 40-3 as Wolverines.
McCarthy won the starting quarterback battle over former Michigan signal-caller Cade McNamara early in the 2022 season. He opened the final 13 outings and led the Wolverines to the Big Ten title and College Football Playoff, where they fell to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl, 51-45. McCarthy threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns but also led Michigan back with 393 total yards and 3 touchdowns before falling short.
For the 2022 season, McCarthy connected on 208 of his 322 passes (64.6 percent) for 2,719 yards and 22 touchdowns with 5 interceptions.
Backing up McNamara in 2021, McCarthy was used as a running quarterback and second-stringer. He appeared in 11 games, completing 34 of 59 pass attempts for 516 yards with 5 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. Michigan won the Big Ten title, the first of three consecutive championships, finishing 12-2 with a CFP loss to Georgia.
McCarthy ranks fourth in U-M history with 482 career completions, behind only Chad Henne (828), John Navarre (765) and Elvis Grbac (522). His 6,226 career passing yards check in sixth in the record book, trailing Henne (9,715), Navarre (9,254), Grbac (6,460), Devin Gardner (6,250) and Denard Robinson (6,250).
A four-star recruit, McCarthy was the No. 47 overall player in the 2021 class, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He led IMG Academy to an 8-0 record as a senior, throwing 16 touchdowns and no picks. He spent his first three years of high school at Nazareth Academy in his hometown of La Grange Park, Ill. All told in his prep career, McCarthy threw for 7,905 yards and 94 touchdowns with 13 interceptions.
