Will J.J. McCarthy end Michigan QB competition vs Hawaii?
What does J.J. McCarthy have to do against Hawaii to win the Michigan football starting quarterback job for good?
All eyes are going to be on J.J. McCarthy tonight as the Michigan football team hosts Hawaii at the Big House.
The former five-star quarterback is making his first career start in a planned part of the ongoing quarterback competition with Cade McNamara, who started last season and has a 14-3 record as a starter for the Wolverines.
McCarthy has continued to improve though and he was clearly the better player against Colorado State last week. But he’s never been given the keys and allowed to drive the car for a full game.
We’ll see if he can create more explosive plays (the offense only had 3 plays over 20 last week). One of those was a 60-yard touchdown from McNamara to Roman Wilson but it was a screen and mostly Wilson making a play.
The other two plays were a run by McCarthy and a pass completion by McCarthy to Colston Loveland. So it will be interesting to see if he can make big plays more consistently, while also avoiding mistakes. That’s part of the formula that has made Cade so effective.
That means no interceptions. Taking what the defense gives him and also trying to get down to avoid hits a little more. Rushing yards are nice and we want the first down (and touchdowns) he can’t sacrifice his body for one play. It’s not worth it.
Will J.J. McCarthy lock down the job tonight?
Can he win the job for good tonight? That’s hard to say. This is Hawaii after all and I don’t think Jim Harbaugh is going to say it’s over and done with.
Cade will play on Saturday and probably in the next few games, at least until Iowa, if everything goes according to plan.
McCarthy will likely get another start if he plays as well as expected. Personally, I have him accounting for 300 total yards and five touchdowns (in less than three full quarters).
Yet, if Cade is productive tonight, then he’ll get his opportunities, especially if McCarthy struggles (down the road). The bottom line is that this team can win the Big Ten title again.
Next. 5 predictions for Michigan vs Hawaii. dark
But Harbaugh has to manage this QB situation right. He also needs to open up the offense more (for recruiting purposes) and McCarthy is the man to do it, especially with five-star QB recruit Jadyn Davis expected to be in attendance tonight.