The Michigan Wolverines have a freshman quarterback they believe is the total package in J.J. McCarthy. He possesses the requisite arm talent and leadership qualities to be a star at the next level. He has always had the skill-set to be a star, but a change he made before his senior season of high school prepared him even more for the opportunity in Ann Arbor.
McCarthy transferred from Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Illinois to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida ahead of the 2020 football season. IMG is a sports academy and prep school that athletes from all over the country transfer into. The football talent on the IMG roster is made up of elite prospects with offer sheets from college football powerhouses.
He feels it was a step forward for his maturity as a player and as a man.
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“Huge. Football side, unbelievable," he said. "The terminology stepped up incredibly for that senior year going into college. Living, too. My living situation was different. It was the first time I was away from my family. Being from Illinois and going to Florida and spending 6-to-7 months there is a lot different from Illinois to Ann Arbor. Having that distance where I have to manage a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend and my parents, was something I really needed.”
McCarthy helped lead IMG to an 8-0 record and its first national championship in football. He was named Florida's High School Player of the Year and finished the season with 1,440 yards and 16 passing touchdowns.
“It was a four-month mental challenge,” McCarthy said in an interview with the Chicago Sun Times earlier this year. “I feel just much more prepared (for college). I really gained a huge perspective on football and life. It just helped me in the developmental process of everything I was going through."
McCarthy brushed shoulders with a lot of elite prospects during his time at IMG and was already someone who had an impact for Michigan on the recruiting trail. He has continued to put that hat on after arriving on campus.
“I’m always offering to help any way I can in recruiting," he said. "I know how much of a part that is to a successful football team. We need the right guys in our program to win the games that we need to win. Whenever they need me, I’m going to do whatever they ask and talk to whoever I need to talk to and tell them straight up why they need to come here.
"It’s not too hard to recruit Michigan. This is the place to be.”
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