Jim Harbaugh discusses next steps for J.J. McCarthy's development
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is entering his junior season with many boxes checked with just one full year of starting experience. He's proven that he's capable of leading a championship team but has openly noted that there are plenty of areas of growth in his game.
He's added 10 pounds of muscle during the offseason and his growth has been noticeable, especially to head coach Jim Harbaugh.
The headman was asked about McCarthy's weight gain and chalked it up to natural growth by being in the program.
"I've noticed it just mother nature and maturity," Harbaugh told reporters at the National College Showcase on Thursday. "When you look at his face, there's less baby fat. I think he got his man-year that some often at 18, 19-years-old. You remember that he's a very young guy. His face is just more mature, the baby fat is gone and it's been natural. It's not like he was bulking up at the gym or anything.
"He had a great spring, he had a tremendous spring. That, everything he does, he epitomizes better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today as anybody that I've ever been around. It's going good."
So, with that being said, what's next in McCarthy's development? What else can he do to increase his play?
Harbaugh says the willingness to do anything to help the team is going to help McCarthy immensely.
"You think that with quarterbacks, there's always something to be working on, right?" Harbaugh said. "The one he's got is the willingness to do anything for anybody on the team. I look at the great quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, I'm not with them every day but you can just tell by looking at how they play the game and what they say. Especially about their teammates, there's a willingness there to do. That's the secret sauce in a quarterback.
"You could have all the different attributes which Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen do and so does J.J. They also got that willingness to do anything for their teammates. Because of that, their teammates and their coaches, like me, would follow him anywhere. I would recommend that anyone on the team would follow JJ anywhere that he's leading.
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