Will J.J. McCarthy stay at Michigan for another year or leave for the NFL?
With the No. 1-ranked Wolverines ramping up preparations to play Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 (5 p.m., ESPN), the quarterback’s future in Ann Arbor remains a major storyline to watch in the weeks to come.
That’s because the first deadline for underclassmen such as McCarthy, a junior, to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft is Friday, Jan. 5. Four days later, on Jan. 9, the NFL will begin distributing to teams a list of third-year players eligible for the draft and all-star games will send out invites.
If Michigan can beat the Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff semifinal and advance to play for a national title on Jan. 8, it would potentially overlap that date. The final deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft, set for April 24-27 in Detroit, is Jan. 15.
“I have not (made a decision) at all,” McCarthy told reporters Monday. “I’m completely in the present moment, soaking in every single day, enjoying every single practice, every single meeting with my guys. Only God knows (the answer to) that question, so I’ll know by the end of the season.”
McCarthy surely has the resume to make the leap if he chooses. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound quarterback has thrown for 5,865 yards and 46 touchdowns in three seasons at Michigan, placing him sixth all time in program history in both categories. He took over as the starting quarterback just three games into the 2022 season and been steady ever since, amassing an impressive 68-percnt completion rate, a 25-1 record as starter and back-to-back Big Ten titles and CFP appearances. He also brings an ability to scramble and extend plays, making him appealing for the modern-day NFL.
Meanwhile, draft experts seem to think McCarthy has the tape and skillset to be a first-round pick. In his latest mock draft, published Dec. 12 after Michigan completed a 12-0 regular season and beat Iowa to win the Big Ten championship, ESPN’s Matt Miller projected McCarthy to the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 7 overall pick. And he provided this nugget of behind-the-scenes chatter: “The Michigan scheme does him no favors in terms of statistics, but NFL scouts continue to tell me that McCarthy will be drafted earlier than expected.”
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh even tried broaching the topic with McCarthy after the Big Ten title game.
“He actually brought it up and asked if I wanted to talk about it in the week off,” McCarthy said. “I told him, ‘I’m only focused on ‘Bama, coach,’ and he loved it. He was fired up.”
In actuality, McCarthy’s performance against the Crimson Tide could help make or break his draft stock. He played exceptionally well in the Wolverines’ first nine games of the season but cooled down the stretch, a period of play that could attributed to a nagging leg injury, a banged up offensive line and a change in offensive philosophy (he only attempted eight passes in the win over Penn State).
McCarthy is also prone to mistakes, evident by his pair of pick-6s against Texas Christian in last year’s CFP semifinal and a three-interception game against Bowling Green in September.
A strong performance against Alabama (and perhaps beyond) could be enough to convince him to leave. But he’s not ready to commit either way just yet.
“I could see that. I could see that,” McCarthy said, when asked about the next three weeks. “I feel like I’m approaching it just like I did Week 1. Every single time you put yourself out there, it’s an opportunity to showcase it to the scouts and NFL teams. I’m just focused on the same mentality as I was in Week 1.”