A Deep Dive Into JJ McCarthy's Performance At The Elite 11 Finals

Michigan quarterback commit JJ McCarthy competed at the Elite 11 Finals in Nashville this week and was one of the event's top performers.

The Rivals100 prospect from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy was included in the Elite 11 after the three-day competition, which was no surprise. After all, McCarthy started off strong on Day 1 and finished in the Top 10 in both challenges on Days 2 and 3.

The Wolverine's EJ Holland teamed up with John Garcia, Director of Football Recruiting for Sports Illustrated, to give an in-depth look at McCarthy's performance in Nashville.

Here is Part 1 of their discussion.

What were your overall thoughts on McCarthy’s performance at the Elite 11 Finals?

Garcia: I really liked his progress. The only other time I saw him live was at the IMG 7v7 tournament (usually a huge summer club 7v7 tournament) a year ago in June. He was always accurate, a good decision maker and steady. This week, the arm looked live. He was also able to use his athleticism a lot, too. It wasn’t just about his arm and sitting in the pocket like a 7v7. He was able to assert his athleticism and able to show you how comfortable he was off platform as well. I thought he was going to win for a minute on the third day. I just thought he was about as consistent as anybody else. The three workouts were so different. Anybody that was consistent over three days had a shot to win it, and there weren’t many. We did rankings everyday, and I think he and Caleb Williams were the only ones in the Top 6 everyday. He was just incredibly consistent. His arm looks to have progressed since the last time I saw him. He obviously finished No. 2 for us in our calculated rankings. My gut was leaning towards him winning the whole thing. That’s how much I liked him.

Holland: It’s kind of weird on my end. For national guys like John, this is only their second or third time seeing JJ live. I have the luxury of living in Chicago and seeing him once every two weeks or so. Of course, that will end as he embarks on his new journey at IMG Academy. But the point is I see JJ a ton and feel like sometimes I try to nitpick too much because I do see him more often than any other recruit. With that said, I thought JJ was terrific. There weren’t many negative takeaways from his performance in Nashville. I had him in my Top 6 on all three days and No. 3 in my final personal rankings. This setting was unique because it gave me a chance to see JJ throw side-by-side against other top ranked signal-callers nationally. JJ more than proved himself and should be in the five-star discussion heading into the fall. His senior season at powerhouse IMG Academy looms large, but overall, I thought JJ improved his stock — not that there was much room for improvement considering his No. 33 overall ranking. But he certainly didn’t hurt it at all.

What went behind your final ranking for McCarthy?

Garcia: We knew we wanted to rank everyday. The Elite 11 folks only rank the Top 11. We wanted to rank all 20 because if we only ranked 11, the first question would be ‘well, what about this guy?’ The first day was a regular camp. It was a regional type of setup based on drills and different stations that were rotating. They were trying to work on mobile things and get you out of your comfort zone. That one was purely an evaluation. These are the guys that looked the best and the most consistent and lasted through the long workout. JJ was Top 5 on that night.

Day 2 and Day 3 changed our mentality because they were more metrics based. Day 2 was the Pro Day. Every single kid had the same 19 throws expected to be in the same exact spots regardless of kid or style. It was the same exact situation for every kid. It was an easier way to measure tangibly instead of purely subjectively. We came up with a grading system not dissimilar from Elite 11’s. Threes were money shots where everything looked good — delivery, ball placement, the whole thing. Twos were on target but something was off — timing was a tick too early or late, placement was a yard or two in front or behind, etc. Ones were just misses, where the quarterback didn’t do his job. That one was pretty down the middle. There were some two or three question marks but not many. McCarthy was rolling at the top all the way until the second to last guy, Carlos Del Rio, who everybody saw get really hot at the end. McCarthy finished second.

But he was the leader in the clubhouse, and remember, he went first. He truly set the tone at the Pro Day. The three throws that I liked the most were all consecutive. I think they were throws five, six and seven. Five was this seven cut, where you’re in the pocket and take a deep shot 40 yards in the air on a flag route. A lot of kids miss because you’re breaking outside towards the sideline. A lot kids throw it out of bounds. JJ was on time. The next throw was an over route. You’re rolling a little bit, and the receiver is coming across the formation about 15 yards. It’s a throw that showcases your timing. JJ hits it. The throw after that, you’re rolling out to your weak side, so to your left, where you’re throwing a pigtail route. It’s basically a scramble drill for the receiver. You come underneath on a curl route then you break towards the sideline. The timing was there for JJ. Those three throws were the only part where the gut played a role in scoring those throws. They were the biggest measuring sticks because they were consecutive. JJ got into a rhythm, so that’s why he was such a high scorer for us.

On the third day, when we found out it was going to be an accuracy gauntlet, we just tried to keep the same scale. Obviously, time was a factor in this one. The Elite 11 folks timed it and deducted points for certain things. We let them have that part of it. But we scored the throws the same way. If they hit the target, they got a three. If they hit the rim, they got a two and so on. The last two days were very tangibly ranked and metric based. They were very objective compared to Day 1. What we did for the final rankings was create averages. Whatever the numbers spit out, we went with. We thought it was about as objective of a ranking system as we could come up with.

Holland: That was a lot to digest from John, so I’ll keep my answer pretty short. Obviously, John and SI had an intricate way of ranking quarterbacks based around metrics. My rankings were more subjective and definitely more incomplete. As the Michigan reporter, I focused most of my attention on JJ throughout the three days. I didn’t get to have a national analyst overview like John. With that said, I did my best to watch the other guys in the competition and did see every throw from every quarterback on Day 3. In my opinion, there was no clear-cut winner of this competition. It was pretty open. You could definitely make an argument for JJ, Caleb Williams, who took home the MVP, Carlos Del Rio, Brock Vandagriff and maybe one or two others. JJ was in that elite tier for sure. As John mentioned, he was a consistent Top 6 performer on each day and also had the intangibles that often (apparently not this year) hold a lot of weight in the final rankings. JJ was stellar on Day 1 during the camp portion and took command of his group. JJ also had a strong performance at the Pro Day despite going first. As John said, he set the tone for the rest of the guys. While he faded a bit at the end of the challenge, JJ was once again a top performer during Day 3’s accuracy challenge. The only two quarterbacks I had ahead of JJ were Del Rio, who was SI’s top scorer on Day 2, and Vandagriff, who blazed past the competition on Day 3.

What strengths did McCarthy display throughout the week from a pure football standpoint?

Garcia: His arm strength has really improved. The ball jumps off of his hand. He can maintain a tight spiral. I just like that he can be effective off platform and on the move. Those elements are now essential to be considered elite. Not a lot of settings allow you to see that on a consistent basis. We didn’t get to see another of his strengths that he shows on tape, which is his decision making. That’s really the only thing sort of missing from Elite 11 this year. We didn’t get to see 7v7. We didn’t get to see that mental processing ability. In terms of his arm and how consistent his arm can be from an accuracy and strength standpoint in the pocket and on the move, there were maybe none better over all three days than JJ.

Holland: Like John said, the ball really pops when JJ throws. I actually saw those who just watched the Instagram Live feed say negative things about McCarthy in this area, but it’s different when, well, you know, you’re actually there. Despite some wind and rain, JJ pushed the ball down the field and put that elite level arm talent on full display. I know JJ can basically fling it as far as he wants from watching him all the time, but the thing that really stands out to me about him is his ball placement and touch. JJ may have a rocket launcher, but the ball comes down like it’s going to land in a basket of eggs without breaking any. You didn’t get to see it much at the competition, but the touchdown throw at the end of his Pro Day where Trent Dilfer is holding two dummy pads shows JJ can zip it into tight windows. As John mentioned earlier, there were some more off platform throws at the event that I expected there to be. And that’s really where JJ excels. He loves working off platform with private quarterbacks coach Greg Holcomb and is at his best on the move. Even on tape, his best plays come when he’s rolling out or showing off his escapability in the pocket.

What are some things McCarthy needs to continue to work on?

Garcia: You certainly want to see him improve strength. A lot of times, we try to focus on what’s not there. But I always think that if you fine-tune strength, you’ll be in a good position. Just continue play consistently accurate. There’s room to improve on some of the throws with the timing. He was a little early on a couple of throws during the Pro Day beyond the throws that we really highlighted. Maybe he was eager. He could show more restraint to some degree. He is a good athlete, so maybe he can center and balance more on some of his throws. But really, there’s not a lot to nitpick with JJ. He’s in a really, really good spot at this point.

Holland: I said this going into the event — consistency. Yes, JJ was consistent from an overall performance on a daily basis. But each day he had a couple of really bad throws. JJ does get antsy at times, and Dilfer said as much after the event. He’s definitely not erratic, but he does need to settle himself down sometimes. I also think JJ, who is the biggest perfectionist I've ever covered, puts so much pressure on himself that he overthinks things. I love when he just goes out there and plays loose because he’s so fun to watch when he’s firing on all cylinders. Once his confidence builds up, and he gets in a rhythm, he makes throws no other high school quarterback can — hence the sequence John mentioned earlier. With all of this said, some quarterbacks looked a little more consistent because they were conservative with their throws. JJ went out there and really let the ball fly at the event, which I admire.

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