Michigan football: Is J.J. McCarthy ready to start for the Wolverines?

Since coming to Michigan football in 2021, the former five-star quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, has been deemed a “Michigan Man.” Now a sophomore, the young quarterback is loaded with talent and seemingly bleeds Maize and Blue, but does he have what it takes to make Michigan an elite football program again?

Michigan football’s quarterback room in 2021

Coming out of high school, J.J. McCarthy was rated as a five-star recruit by 247Sports and was one of the most sought-after players in his class. After a year of sitting behind Cade McNamara, McCarthy will likely be ready to take over the starting role sooner rather than later.

Though it has become clear that McCarthy is an elite-level talent, whether or not the young star will take Michigan football to the next level is a question that remains unanswered.

In 2021 Michigan’s starting quarterback was junior Cade McNamara, a former four-star who eventually received the starting nod in mid-2020 during the Wolverines’ disaster of a season. Since then, McNamara’s former competition for the job, Joe Milton, transferred to Tennessee, where he would lose yet another starting role.

After a 12-2 season, most Michigan football fans seem happy with the team’s success but dissatisfied with the quarterback play.

After all, Michigan had one of the nation’s best running back rooms and a Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line, yet lacked in the passing department. In today’s era of college football, one must have an excellent quarterback to be an elite program; there is little space for a game-managing quarterback among elite teams.

Michigan football fans have no reason to dislike Cade McNamara, and quite frankly, most don’t. The only gripe that anyone has with McNamara is his painfully average style of play.

McNamara is not very turnover prone but is not very mobile, does not have big-play potential, and is not a quarterback that can single-handedly lift an offense.

When given the right tools, McNamara’s best trait seems to be not messing everything up, a skill that many quarterbacks possess.