As Heisman talk grows, Michigan football's J.J. McCarthy remains focused on championships
J.J. McCarthy has seemingly soared to the top of the Heisman Trophy race in a matter of weeks, but Michigan football's signal caller isn't new to the spotlight. Far from it.
Prior to his arrival in Ann Arbor, McCarthy had droves of supporters who followed his high school arc, from the time he first emerged as a five-star recruit at Nazareth Academy near his hometown of La Grange, Illinois, to when he gained an even larger following as a senior at IMG Academy in Florida.
Once anointed as Jim Harbaugh's QB1 following a battle to begin last season, his star grew exponentially. McCarthy has since emerged as the face of the program and taken over as one of the leaders of the team.
So yes, being a Heisman front-runner is different than anything prior, but his mentality remains the same.
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"It's a tremendous honor, but at the end of the day I could care less about all that," McCarthy said Monday. "I don't really care about trophies, I care about championships."
A predictable answer, and that's no slight. There was a similar refrain from Blake Corum a season ago when he was on the short list of Heisman candidates.
McCarthy went to bat for his running back at this time last year, calling him one of if not "the best back in the country," a compliment which Corum returned last week.
Corum's comments now appears prophetic, after he said McCarthy's numbers hadn't reflected his true greatness, pointing out he's yet to play in almost a single fourth quarter and calling McCarthy the team's "field general."
McCarthy once again didn't play in most of the fourth quarter Saturday at Michigan State, but he didn't need to and still put up perhaps the best game of his career: he completed 21 of 27 passes for 287 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in a 49-0 rout, the most lopsided win in the rivalry since 1947.
“He’s a heck of a player," Corum said. "Where he was last year to this year, I’m proud of him, but I expect nothing less, just because the type of person he is. The work that I see him put in, the film that I see him watch, he’s amazing, man.
"So when it comes to the Heisman, I say put him up there. He deserves it."
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Since the offseason, U-M coaches said there was going to be more of an emphasis on the passing game and though McCarthy welcomed the responsibility, he admitted he put too much pressure on himself at first, often times setting unrealistic expectations.
Never was that more true than the Wolverines night game against Bowling Green, when McCarthy told himself before kickoff he was going to have more touchdowns than incompletions. Instead, the Wolverines' signal caller threw a career-worst three interceptions.
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U-M waltzed its way to a 31-7 victory, but McCarthy was disgusted with himself. However, given the benefit of hindsight, both he and quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell have come to the conclusion it was a blessing in disguise.
"One of the biggest things I live by is staying humble and staying hungry," McCarthy said. "I just had to get reminded by God a little bit to stay humble, respect every opponent no matter who it is and I think that changed my mindset going into each and every week."
Since that performance, McCarthy has completed 76-of-101 passes (75.1%) for 1,098 yards, 11 touchdowns and no turnovers, as he's allowed himself to relax and go back to the roots of his training and the added focus this offseason on the "tools" McCarthy was born with.
Campbell used the offseason to guide the junior athlete on how to use his legs to extend plays, not just run, and how to use his eyes, not just to go through his progression, but to move defenders around. McCarthy said the latter may sound subtle, but has been the most important area of growth since last season, as he's learned to "manipulate" the defense to create throwing lanes.
"I didn't really know about that the last two years," McCarthy said. "To do that all the way from fall camp, spring ball and then doing it on Saturdays has helped me tremendously."
He's also been working with strength & conditioning coach Ben Herbert to improve his strength, speed and agility. McCarthy said he ran a 4.7-second 40-yard dash when he came in as a "scrawny little freshman," but has most recently been timed at 4.48 seconds.
Now bigger, faster, stronger, more knowledgeable and surrounded by talent — like Corum, who leads the nation with 12 rushing touchdowns, Roman Wilson, who is No. 2 in the nation with 11 receiving touchdowns, Colston Loveland and others — it's not a surprise McCarthy has entered the conversation in that respect.
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It was always going to come down to the numbers. Take Michael Penix, his main competition right now, who has 2,576 yards (777 more), 20 passing touchdowns (two more), and has also led Washington to an undefeated record.
The numbers are bigger, but not insurmountable.
Ultimately, McCarthy aims to follow in the footsteps of the 2019 Heisman winner — Joe Burrow — another athletic quarterback with Midwest roots. Burrow threw for 4,715 yards and 48 touchdowns in his final collegiate season when he won almost every individual award imaginable. But more than those accolades, McCarthy wants what Burrow ended that season with: a national championship.
While his fame isn't on the same stratosphere as Burrow's, if the winning keeps up this way, it might be someday.
How has McCarthy handled that rise? Focusing on what's got him there, whether that's his daily meditation or his morning bowl of bone broth.
"Naturally, there's a lot of pressure that comes with it. I just stay focused and keep my life simple. Keeping to my meditation, keeping to being in this building, being around the guys — that's the most important things that matter, you know?
"The fame, the notoriety, and all that, that's just a byproduct of the work that we put in as a team."
Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him @realtonygarcia.
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Next up: Boilermakers
Matchup: No. 2 Michigan (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) vs. Purdue (2-5, 1-3).
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.
TV/radio: NBC; WWJ-AM (950), WTKA-AM (1050).
Line: TBA.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As Heisman talk grows, Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy focused on winning
