Jim Harbaugh Is Right, J.J. McCarthy Is The Best Quarterback In Michigan History

Say what you will about Jim Harbaugh, but the guy loves to hype up his players. Sometimes it’s a little bit overblown. Even I don’t know when he’s genuinely being truthful and when he’s just trying to give his guys a boost of confidence. J.J. McCarthy doesn’t strike me as somebody who is lacking in confidence, but Harbaugh has gone out of his way on multiple occasions to sing J.J.‘s praises. I understand why. Several years back, there were multiple people, myself included, who were waiting for the moment when J.J. decommitted from Michigan after their disastrous Covid season. He stuck true to his word, committed to U of M, and now he’s got the Wolverines one win away from a national championship. Everything that Harbaugh says about this guy is correct. He is the greatest quarterback this program has ever seen. 

I’m going to be honest, I don’t really put much stock in anything any Michigan quarterback did from an individual standpoint until probably Elvis Grbac in the early 90s. The game has just changed so much. Michigan’s identity as a program for the longest time was to run the ball down people’s throats and have a quarterback that was capable of managing the game, throw for 1500 yards and ten touchdowns per season, and call it a day. Yes, you had a few exceptions to this rule. Jim Harbaugh and Rick Leach both finished in the top five in Heisman voting at different points, but when you go back and watch highlights from those games, it doesn’t even feel like the same sport. It doesn’t diminish what those guys did in their era, but it makes it hard to compare them to someone like J.J. 

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Because of the system he plays in, the chances of J.J. ever putting up Joe Burrow numbers were always around zero. Jim Harbaugh's teams are still physical as hell and try to establish the offensive line and running game when they can, but every game, J.J. McCarthy has at least one moment in which he does something that no Michigan quarterback other than him would’ve been capable of doing. Yesterday, the play he made on the halfback pass from Donovan Edwards was miraculous. The fact that he completed that ball to Roman Wilson was a miracle. The guy just has it between the ears, too. He’s a tough kid, and he doesn’t seem to get rattled., Oh yeah, and he’s 26-1 as a starter. That counts for something.

I’m trying not to get too excited. Michigan has one more game to take care of, but man, if this year hasn’t played out in something of a storybook manner so far. A big reason for that is number nine. He might not end up with the cumulative totals that somebody like Chad Henne did. If we’re just talking overall volume, Chad Henne probably has the argument for the best quarterback in Michigan history. But he never beat Ohio State, and he was 1-3 in bowl games. J.J.’s impact goes beyond just the stat sheet. All he does is win.