Final Three Takeaways On JJ McCarthy From Day 1 Of Elite 11 Finals

1. Competitive Edge — Around midnight last night, I got a text from McCarthy’s former teammate and three-star 2021 defensive end Ryan Keeler. He asked me how McCarthy performed and went on to tell me that the four-star signal-caller had just sent him a photo of himself working out at the hotel weight room. That’s vintage (if you can use that word for a recruit) McCarthy. I sat down in the stands with McCarthy’s father, Jim, and his quarterback trainer, Greg Holcomb, and we all could tell how upset McCarthy was after bowing out of the final challenge of the night — he just missed the throw in the rail shot challenge. It seems McCarthy was so upset that he blew off some steam by pumping some iron while most were asleep. This kid has the 'it' factor.