The best Michigan quarterback of all time — that's what former coach Jim Harbaugh called J.J. McCarthy in January after Michigan won the CFP national championship.
It's time for McCarthy to prove that claim.
His Wolverine career is over, but the rest of his career is just beginning. McCarthy is one of the 257 NFL hopefuls hoping to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. He'll be selected quickly, whether it's due to his college coach's praise, his championship ring, or his pro day excellence.
Where he'll head after April is still up in the air. What's even more of a mystery is how he'll make the transition to the pros. While the hype for McCarthy is there, he now needs to live up to it, and that's the hardest part. He seems to have the mentality needed to succeed, though, as subtly shown with his custom uniform at Michigan's pro day.
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J.J. McCarthy smile shirt, explained
A three-time Big Ten champion, three-time college football playoff contender, national champion. Despite all the pressure that came with being quarterback at Michigan, McCarthy never surrendered to it.
Some may remember his pre-title game meditation. He spoke out about how the mindfulness strategy helped him during high school. He played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., thousands of miles away from home in La Grange, Ill. McCarthy said he suffered with depression during that time and sought out ways to strengthen and center his mind. He's been meditating ever since, and clearly, it's helped.
NFL DRAFT RUMORS: Drake Maye | Jayden Daniels | J.J. McCarthy | Vikings | 2024 Draft
Now, the expectations are piled high as he makes his case in the NFL Draft, but rather than recognizing it as a new journey, a new stage, McCarthy focuses on the big picture — it's just a game.
At Michigan's pro day in March, rather than wearing a shirt with his number on it, the QB debuted a custom smiley face t-shirt. He would always draw one on his hand before games, so why not turn it into something bigger?
Have a day, J.J.#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/iBu8sbAbnu
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) March 22, 2024
"This is something that I bring back to when I was playing in high school and just having fun and just playing with the boys and going out there with little worries at all," McCarthy told media. "With all this added pressure that comes with being a franchise quarterback and being drafted and all that, it brings me back to the roots of 'hey, this is just a game at the end of the day.'
"You zoom out on planet earth and you look down, all this pressure that you're feeling really isn't there at the end of day. So just being able to go back to that moment, realize it's just a game, go out there, have fun, and I'll do my best."
MORE: McCarthy scouting report | Experts explain McCarthy's meteoric rise up draft boards
J.J. McCarthy NFL Mock Draft
McCarthy won't be the first quarterback off the board, plain and simple, but isn't a slight given this draft's stacked class of signal-callers. He will still come off the board early. Here's a breakdown of SN's Vinnie Iyer's top 10 QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft:
2024 NFL DRAFT TOP 10 LISTS: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | EDGE
| Ranking | Player | School |
| 1 | Caleb Williams | USC |
| 2 | Drake Maye | North Carolina |
| 3 | Jayden Daniels | LSU |
| 4 | J.J. McCarthy | Michigan |
| 5 | Bo Nix | Oregon |
| 6 | Michael Penix Jr. | Washington |
| 7 | Spencer Rattler | South Carolina |
| 8 | Michael Pratt | Tulane |
| 9 | Jordan Travis | Florida State |
| 10 | Joe Milton III | Tennessee |
