On Alex Orji's run in the second half

Yeah, not just Alex but our entire quarterback room is ready for the situation whenever it strikes. Alex has done an unbelievable job preparing himself with not only the run game but the throw game. That was an opportunity that not only his talent warranted but his preparation warranted as well.

On his reaction to J.J. McCarthy's precise throws into traffic

When that specific throw happened, the touchdown I assume you're talking about and the Cornelius one, the Cornelius one was a lot safer one, the sidelines. He learned a lesson from Maryland, he threw the ball back across the middle. When you scramble to the sidelines, try to get the ball back toward the sidelines, low and away, where only your guy can make it. The Cornelius one was a nice adjustment from the week before. On the one at the sidelines, the one at the end of the game, that was a little bit crazy. We want to make sure we control those and not throw the ball back across the middle as much there. The one to Roman, that's the one where, as a coach, you're like no, no, no, YES! Touchdown, Michigan. You see what he saw but he's in a different position than I am in the box. You could see the defender is not fully cued in on him, you could see that. I've talked to his ad nauseam, he sees the field extremely well. Using his eyes to the right, he looks back left, right when he goes back to throw the ball the defender starts looking at the receiver. At that point, he was able to make the throw. In big games, some of the balls are in tight windows and you're going to have to make them. That was a big play in the game. Couldn't be more excited that he made that decision.

On the importance of saving different looks for the Ohio State game

I'm sure, as you guys have heard before, we prepare for those guys 364 days a year, if 365 is the day that we play them. There is stuff that we try to set up during the year to make sure that when we play the Buckeyes in the last week of November that we're prepared for it. Then there's some stuff you have to use earlier and you've got to make sure you complement that as the year goes on. We definitely prepare for them 364 days out of the year.

On J.J.'s understanding of minute details of a defender

We 100% look at that stuff. You talk about depths of defenders, are they deep enough? Can we get the ball up and down over them? Are their backs turned to us? You think about the Colston Loveland touchdown against Michigan State, it's the same exact situation. The linebacker was turned around and he put the ball back over his had. When the defender is not looking at you, you can always put that ball over his head. There's very few times that he's ever going to turn back around. There's no reason for that, now he's in chase mode, that DB, because our receiver is behind him. There's things we talk about on film. To be able to execute it, that's just a special player there.

On Jack Tuttle

Specifically, Jack Tuttle has been an outstanding addition. I think I've spoken about that before up here. The type of player that he is, the leadership, the experience he's had. If you can ever find players like him to add to your program for culture, it's an unbelievable add. Very fortunate to have Jack as part of the room.

On fit vs. skill in transfer portal QBs

I think that's the large majority when you're recruiting a player or bringing a player in, they have to fit. It's like dating, they gotta like you, you gotta like them. It's not just taking somebody just because they're a good player. If they don't have the intangibles, the leadership qualities, the type of—how they carry themselves, the background, the familiarity of what we're trying to achieve here.

On whether he felt J.J.'s health impacted his pocket passing

Absolutely. Whenever you're not 100%, especially with the lower body as a quarterback, it's going to be hard to finish a throw. I just thought that it was definitely bothering him. Now he's 100% and we're ready to rock. It definitely affected his game a little bit. He's a warrior, he's a stalwart. He was going to battle and he was going to go out there and play no matter the percentage he was.

On how much McCarthy was able to practice

We practiced him as much as we could given the opportunity.

On whether he coaches up Donovan Edwards when making passes

Donovan loves—we do (practices) every Friday and he comes over and gets some throws. Donovan is just a natural athlete, revert back to 2021 Big Ten championship and he made that throw there. Those skill sets, we're evaluating the entire team, not just Donovan. Anybody that can help us in any way, gain an extra yard or complement us in a different situation, we're looking at that and evaluating it. In practice, we have a little bit of relaxing time, he'll throw the football around but he's not the only one.

On focusing on the team he has right now vs. building a team with the portal

I'm worried about beating Iowa, that's our sole focus and Team 144. We'll add those parts whenever it happens but we're on a special run here and we're going to enjoy it while it lasts.

On McCarthy being the Big Ten QB of the year

That is a compliment to him. Super proud of him and his work. Obviously, the first player in Michigan history to ever do that. He's a special, talented, player. He invests in the meeting room in the offseason, for him to be rewarded with that is just special. So happy for him and his teammates, too. They're a large part of that. The receivers, O-line blocking for him and the running backs. Huge accomplishment for J.J. right there.

On Sherrone Moore as a head coach

Sherrone is an unbelievable human. One of my favorite people to be around. Always has a smile on his face. Very, very detailed in what he does. Knows what he wants to do and accomplish out there. It's great to be around him. He's very open-minded, he listens to other people and he makes the best decisions for the team. When we leave that room, we're all on board. He's just a really good person to be around. To be in the situation he was and how he thrived in it, I don't know if there's anybody that could've done what he did and that was a large compliment to his preparation. He prepared himself for that opportunity every day and when it struck, he was ready to go to be the head coach, be the play caller and manage the entire team. It was pretty special to watch.

On Iowa's defense

Phil Parker has been there for a long time as a defensive coordinator. He knows what he wants to do and accomplish. On normal downs, they're not normally complex but they are so, so fundamentally sound with the coverage structure in the front. Explosive plays are just so hard to come by with these guys. You're gonna have to be patient, take what they give you and whenever they make a mistake in coverage or we get a match-up that's advantageous for us, we have to take advantage of it. Just so fundamentally sound, well-coached, a lot of respect for what they do over there in Iowa.

On how does Blake Corum help the QBs and what he will remember the most about him

How Blake Corum helps other players and how I'll remember him is he's just an unbelievable teammate and person to be around. You go from the turkey drive he's done, I don't know how many years running it's been, two or three years, to just being around him as a person, he's always a joy to be around. He has a unique perspective. He's a country kid but went to a city school so he has both backgrounds. He helps the quarterbacks because he lets us know if he sees something that he's seeing as far as blitzes or protection-wise. We all just work and collaborate together. He's just another special part of this program and why Team 144 at Michigan is just unbelievable. It's an honor for me to be around him. It really is. I cherish that opportunity.

On how much Michigan vs. Everybody apparel has been in Schembechler Hall recently

A fair amount. I think that's something — I don't know how long that saying has been around, it's been around for some time. I think what it really stands for, for me, I just love this place. The people in the building, Coach Harbaugh, you mentioned Coach Moore. It's an honor to be here. That's why I wear it. I just want to show how much this place means to me and how appreciative I am to be here.

On adding teams and removing divisions will impact B1G championships moving forward

I think, naturally, with expanded playoffs, the game we just saw might be the last time the magnitude of that game, depending on what happens this weekend furthermore, but the magnitude of that game will be so high. It's still going to be an extremely important game, it's a game we're going to prepare for, I talked about all year. The magnitude may never reach that potential with the expanded playoffs. It's just going to be different and everything.

On the success of the offense

I think it's the execution. We have unbelievable coaches on our offensive staff. To be able to articulate the message to the players, our players are extremely intelligent. We're able to do a vast variety of different looks, formations, motions, presentation of defense that causes them issues and our players are smart enough to retain it. Our coaches are articulate enough to teach it and I think you'll never see that on the stat sheet but that's a credit to our players and coaching staff.

On how he has seen McCarthy block out the outside noise

J.J. is really good at compartmentalizing everything. He's very good at staying at the task at hand. The most important thing, as we talk about today, we're going to attack practice. Today's Wednesday has got to be the best Wednesday of the year. The only thing that matters is this Wednesday and that's how you compartmentalize it. Some people use a 1-0 mentality, we use it as being in the present mentality. What happened in the past is the past. What happens in the future you can only prepare for by having a great practice today.

On whether he sees anyone in the QB room as future coaches

Absolutely. We spoke about Jack Tuttle a lot in the quarterback room, he wants to be a coach and I think he is going to be an outstanding one. Davis Warren is very smart, understands the game. Jayden Denegal is going in that direction. Alex Orji, all those guys are just leaders in their own different way. I think that question, I kind of threw everybody out there, but they're all special in their own different way. I think if you look at coaches in the future, don't be surprised to definitely see all of them in that role. JD Johnson is obviously in that room, I think he's back there somewhere. JD, if you guys know, his injury, he's not allowed to play anymore and he helps me out in the quarterback room. He's very special for what we do every single day. He prepares my meetings, helps me on a daily basis. He's great for the players. He's got a great personality and he's somebody that's going to have a bright future. He's 100% going to be a coach. The other guys, not sure yet.

On Blake Corum's diverse background can help relate to other players

I think whenever you can submerge yourself in different kinds of backgrounds and different kind of people and the education he's in or not in or the variety of country to the city, you're able to understand people better. He's able to know how to handle different situations, how to talk to people, how to reach people's inner soul like you're able to make him open up. I think that's a huge part of who he is and how he was formed as a person.

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