J.J. McCarthy is key to Michigan Football reaching next level

If Michigan football is going to win a national championship in 2023, J.J. McCarthy will have a key role to play. 

The narrative surrounding J.J. McCarthy, when he committed to Michigan football, has essentially proven to be true.

The idea was that with McCarthy, Michigan football, a team with a lot of blue-chip talent, but not quite as much as Georiga, Ohio State, Alabama, etc. would bridge the gap like Trevor Lawrence did for Clemson and Joe Burrow did for LSU.

Those programs had a ton of elite talent surrounding those quarterbacks. But their blue-chip ratios weren’t quite what Alabama and Georiga’s were.

Michigan football is about that same level. The Wolverines are always among the contender in the blue-chip ratio rankings put together by 247 Sports. Here’s a look at 2022 for an example.

There is enough talent to win a national title, just like there was last year. The offensive line is going to be stout and have a shot to win the Joe Moore Award again, especially if Ladarius Henderson or someone can step in at left tackle.

I actually believe the defense will be better. People don’t realize how good Kris Jenkins is, but I can tell you right now, he’s got a great shot of being a first-round pick. Like a top-20 pick.

McCarthy can be a top-10 pick and that’s the kind of season he needs to have in order for Michigan football to win the national championship next season.

McCarthy can take the offense to a new level

During the last few games — Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue, and TCU — McCarthy showed that he can carry the offense when needed. He did something against the Buckeyes no Michigan football quarterback has ever done — throw three touchdown passes of 45 yards or more.

What’s even better is that many of the dudes making plays down the stretch will be back, save Ronnie Bell. Colston Loveland, Roman Wilson, and Cornelius Johnson all return, plus Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards.

The wide receiver and tight end rooms are stacked. The running backs are the best in the nation and all of that should lead to a monster season for McCarthy.

For much of last year, the staff was conservative with him. The last four games show that he needs to be unleashed. The Wolverines don’t have to grind every opponent into dust and they don’t need to give the ball to Corum 20-30 times every single game.

They need to keep him healthy for the games that really matter, so he’s 100 percent, not a shell of himself. Donovan Edwards needs more touches too and the offense needs to focus more on McCarthy.

The Wolverines aren’t going to have McCarthy for long. I’m betting this will be his last season in Maize and Blue. I hope I’m wrong and it wouldn’t be shocking if he stayed for another year.

I just think if Michigan football wins the national title, he will be gone because if the Wolverines are going to take that next step, J.J. will need to become the most formidable weapon of the offense.

McCarthy has superstar potential and if reaches that next level, Michigan football is going to be really, really tough to beat.