Michigan football quarterback J.J. McCarthy is poised for a huge season and here are three bold predictions for him in 2023.
One of the reasons Michigan football fans believe there is a legitimate chance of winning a national championship this season is the fact that J.J. McCarthy is back as the starting quarterback.
His first season full-time under center was spectacular. He led Michigan football to a 13-1 record, as well as a Big Ten championship, and a win over Ohio State.
McCarthy wasn’t just a game manager either. He threw 22 touchdown passes compared to just five interceptions. He also completed 64.6 percent of his passes and ran for five touchdowns, as well as 303 yards total.
So in his first season as a starter, McCarthy accounted for 3,000 total yards and 27 touchdowns in a run-heavy offense.
Now, things are going to be more 50/50, and here are three bold predictions for McCarthy going into the 2023 Michigan football season.
McCarthy will set single-season Michigan records for passing yards, touchdowns
Over the course of its history, Michigan football has been known more for running the football, than throwing it.
The career record for passing yards in a single is held by John Navarre with 3,331 yards. The single-season record for touchdown passes is 25 held by Elvis Grabac and Chad Henne.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s that bold to believe McCarthy will break both records. He was around 600 yards short last and only three touchdown passes shy.
The running game will be as good as any in college football. But the passing game will be opened up and I’m praying Michigan football realizes the weapon that McCarthy is and unleashes him.
People mocked when me when I said McCarthy can be a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, but I believe it. He’s got the talent of a first-rounder. Anyone that doesn’t see that is blind. And quarterbacks always move up in the draft process.
If Kenny Pickett was a first-rounder, J.J. McCarthy can be.
Plus, he’s going to be much, much better in 2023. The game is going to slow down for him and it wil be night and day from last season even though he was really good.
The deep ball will be better, Colston Loveland is going to catch about 10 touchdowns, and Michigan football will let McCarthy be McCarthy.
That’s the key to the entire season, at least in terms of winning a national title. McCarthy is special and he’s going to put together a record-breaking season.
First-Team All-Big Ten
This isn’t really a bold prediction in my opinion. But I believe that McCarthy is going to be a first-team All-Big Ten this season.
There are some quality quarterbacks in the conference this season. However, McCarthy if McCarthy throws for over 3,000 yards and accounts for more than 30 total touchdowns, which seem reasonable benchmarks — he’ll take home all-league honors.
Ohio State fans want to act like McCarthy is just average, but they must be forgetting the three 45-yard plus touchdown passes and a fourth on the ground in the 45-23 win in Columbus.
C.J. Stroud threw for more yards but anyone saying he was better in “The Game” has lost touch with reality.
Stroud put up empty stats throughout his career. He threw for over 800 in two games against Michigan but when it really mattered — on key third/fourth downs and in the red zone — Stroud’s face could have been on a Milk Carton because he couldn’t be found. McCarthy was the better quarterback that day and he’ll be the best in the Big Ten in 2023.
McCarthy didn’t put up meaningless stats. He didn’t get enough opportunities to throw the ball and while he threw two picks against TCU, if McCarthy plays a full season like he didn’t against Ohio State, Purdue, and TCU last year, he’ll be First-Team All-Big Ten.
McCarthy goes 3-0 against Ohio State
It’s wild to me that Ohio State fans are still taking shots at McCarthy and saying he’s average, even though he was rated higher than Kyle McCord their projected starter who couldn’t even stand out in the spring game for OSU.
McCord will put up good numbers and as long as he isn’t afraid of the cold like C.J. Stroud, he’ll probably be an upgrade in terms of “The Game.”
Stroud was too mentally weak to stand up to the pressure of that game, which is why he folded like a cheap tent as did the entire Ohio State program.
The Buckeyes still haven’t recovered from the snowy ambush of 2021. They won’t have an answer for Blake Corum or Donovan Edwards, or McCarthy for that matter.
I’d love to see the Buckeyes dare McCarthy to beat them again in November because the result will be the same as it was in 2022 and 2021 for that matter.
McCarthy made the best throw of any quarterback in the 2021 game (to Roman Wilson) and made big play after big play last year. This time, starting in the Big House, McCarthy will push his Michigan football record against Ohio State to 3-0.
Oh, and he’ll be a 2024 first-round pick too.