Will Harbaugh's absence cost Michigan football vs. Ohio State? J.J. McCarthy set to find out
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Dismiss the power of the fist pump at your peril. Or at least if you don’t care about understanding the psychology of the most talented quarterback Michigan football has had in years.
Shoot, decades.
Oh, J.J. McCarthy has struggled recently, and there are varied reasons why he hasn’t been as crisp, including better competition the last two games.
Penn State didn’t give him time to throw. Maryland mixed its back-end coverage well; it didn’t help that LaDarius Henderson and Roman Wilson couldn’t play — McCarthy’s left tackle and protector, and his best, most trusted receiver, respectively.
Jared Goff looks different without Amon-Ra St. Brown. Not that Wilson is St. Brown, but his role, and value to U-M's offense is like what St. Brown brings to the Lions.
And then there is the fist pump. A small thing. A simple thing. A gesture any coach can make, and many do. Yet for McCarthy, no coach’s fist pump does what Jim Harbaugh’s can do, at least for him.
MICHIGAN GRADES: Defense and special teams save offense's bacon vs. Maryland
He mentioned this fist pump early in the season, after Harbaugh had missed the first three games because of a suspension. It was during the Rutgers game, and McCarthy had threaded a heater over the middle between a couple of defenders and into the hands of, you guessed it, Wilson.
A spectacular throw and read he’d made, and he wanted confirmation and, truth be told, an attaboy from the head man. So he looked toward the sidelines, caught his coach’s glance and saw Harbaugh give him a fist pump.
More than anyone else on the staff, Harbaugh knows what it’s like to make a throw like that. Well, maybe not exactly like that, as the former NFL quarterback didn’t have an arm like that. Still, Harbaugh gets it and gets McCarthy.
McCarthy called it comforting, Harbaugh’s presence after the Rutgers game.
“Just something about it,” he said then, “(it) gives me that spark.”
Consider that McCarthy had thrown three interceptions the week before against Bowling Green, something he’d attributed to a new kind of pressure, but also to Harbaugh’s absence for three straight games. He didn’t spell out the last part, but he didn’t need to. More than anyone else on the team, McCarthy had been missing his coach.
RAINER SABIN: Michigan's win over Maryland reveals some concerns entering Ohio State showdown
It makes sense. Not that other players don’t feel his absence, but that the quarterback would feel it the most.
McCarthy didn’t speak to reporters after the Wolverines beat the Terrapins on Saturday, 31-24. He wasn’t ducking the media; it isn’t his style. The school just didn’t bring him to the interview room.
Probably because he struggled. He threw an interception at the goal line late in the first half. He missed Cornelius Johnson on what would’ve been a certain touchdown. He completed barely half his throws, going 12-for-23 for 141 yards.
And if he had met with reporters afterwards, he’d have been the first one to criticize his play. He’s accountable like that.
His interim head coach, Sherrone Moore, was careful when asked about McCarthy’s uneven play Saturday, and eschewed any notion that his quarterback might have been hobbled — he appeared to be bothered by something with his foot during pre-game warmups.
“He’s all good,” said Moore.
Even if he isn’t, Moore wasn’t about to give Ohio State any ammunition. Football coaches are paranoid like that, rightfully so.
As for what he thought of McCarthy’s play?
“I thought he did a good job,” he said with a straight face. “He hasn’t thrown a pick since Bowling Green.”
And?
A PICTURE'S WORTH A THOUSAND WINS: Michigan's epic journey to 1,000 wins: 5-point FGs, sign stealing & Paul Bunyan
“Everybody's hard on him,” he said, referring to analysts and fans and generally anyone who follows and has opinions about Michigan football. “But he’s been perfect to this point of not throwing a pick. Those things happen when you’re throwing (against) a really good team.”
Sure, this is true for any quarterback, though I’m not sure Maryland qualifies as a really good team. Not on defense, anyway. And while the Terrapins did their best to confuse McCarthy, and he obviously missed the safety Henderson provides and the safety blanket Wilson provides, there was still something else slightly amiss.
Which speaks to how they benefit one another, but also speaks to how quickly McCarthy — and the rest of the team, for that matter — must figure out how to get to their very best without him on the sideline. Because they will need to Saturday at Michigan Stadium against Ohio State.
There is a reason U-M argued Harbaugh’s suspension could cause “irreparable harm” if he wasn’t allowed on the sideline. That may sound overstated, but Harbaugh obviously makes a difference. It’s why Michael Barrett walked into the postgame news conference wearing a T-shirt with a collage of photos of his head coach.
“He’s my man,” Barrett said, who is having his best season as a linebacker. “Mikey (Sainristril) got it made for some of the guys a couple weeks ago when everything started happening. He's got a guy that he knows that does shirts.”
“HARBAUGH” it read across the top in bright bluish print. “JIM” it read near the bottom. In between, a mix of snapshots, mostly from Harbaugh’s playing days.
Players don’t wear T-shirts like this unless they miss their coach and believe their coach makes a difference. Again, how much is the question.
Enough to cause “irreparable” harm?
If U-M loses to the Buckeyes? Sure, that’s an argument. There is no taking back a loss and what it would cost the program.
But Barrett and McCarthy and the rest of their teammates don’t have a choice. Ohio State is six days away. The head coach won’t be there with them. They know it. They know, too, that they have to be sharper and even more focused than they were here on Saturday.
It won’t be easy. Human nature and all that, as Moore said.
Besides, what the players are going through, what they are having to tune out — cheater accusations and the like — is happening through no fault of their own, and that requires its own kind of focus as well.
SHAWN WINDSOR: Michigan's first test from a quality QB delivers a passing grade. Barely.
The players aren’t looking for empathy. They would never admit it anyway. About the best they can do is use the noise as a tool, or as fuel.
“I try to tell the guys, like, I’ve been through so much (here) nothing can break me,” Barrett said. “Nothing can pull me from our ultimate goal. We’ve just got to keep (our) mindset. We all know what our goals are at the end of the year.”
The end of the regular-season part of the year is less than a week away. For the third game in a row, and for the sixth time this fall, Harbaugh won’t be on the sidelines.
Some players will feel his absence more than others. No one will feel it quite like McCarthy. To get through Ohio State, he’ll have to find the same kind of comfort and spark without him.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why J.J. McCarthy may miss Jim Harbaugh most, with Ohio State next up
