Less than a week after leading the No. 1-ranked Michigan Wolverines to their first national championship in 26 years, junior quarterback announced via social media on Sunday that he will forgo his senior year of eligibility in favor of the NFL Draft.

McCarthy, a high four-star recruit coming out of high school, committed to Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines in May of 2019.

In the fall of 2020, when Michigan was struggling through a hopeless 2-4 season, McCarthy, who hadn't even enrolled at the university yet, famously tweeted out a message to Michigan fans:

"I want all Michigan fans to do this. Take 3 deep breaths... And have faith," McCarthy wrote. "Faith that every single Coach, player, employee in that building is doing everything they possibly can to be great."

The tweet, although sounding outlandish in the heat of the moment, turned out to age like fine wine.

McCarthy's three seasons featured a 40-3 overall record, three Big Ten Championships and a National Title.

As a freshman, McCarthy spent the majority of the season on the bench backing up starting quarterback Cade McNamara. But in 2022, the sophomore emerged, stole the starting job and never looked back.

The Michigan football program then reached heights it had never seen in the modern college football era.

In McCarthy's 28 games as a starter at Michigan (13 in 2022 and 15 in 2023), he did nothing but win, compiling a historically great 27-1 overall record, with the only loss coming in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl to the TCU Horned Frogs.

He'll finish his career having completed 482 of his 713 pass attempts for 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

After the team's Rose Bowl win over Alabama on New Year's Day, Jim Harbaugh named McCarthy the best quarterback in Michigan football history. Although the numbers don't necessarily agree, McCarthy's draft stock does.

Mock drafts have had McCarthy as high as a top-five pick in this year's NFL Draft, and he's nearly a consensus first-round selection come April. If the soon-to-be 21-year-old is taken in the first round, he'll be the first Michigan quarterback since Harbaugh himself to be taken that high in the NFL Draft.

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