JJ McCarthy joined the Michigan football team with a lot of ambitions, and he ended up achieving them all. He wanted to reshape the rivalry with Ohio State, put the Wolverines back on top of the Big Ten, and, most importantly, win the national championship. McCarthy achieved everything he set out to accomplish.
Michigan’s journey to the national title game was not without challenges, and many of their key players could have pursued careers in the NFL. They all returned with one similar goal: to win the national title.The Wolverines achieved their goal and hope to maintain their success in the future, leveraging their momentum. It will be difficult without players like McCarthy, however.
Let’s take a look at what JJ McCarthy and his crew went through to achieve McCarthy’s ultimate goal for the season. It cannot be emphasized how significant it is to McCarthy’s career.
First, the Wolverines’ head coach, Jim Harbaugh, began the season at home while serving a three-game self-imposed ban for minor recruiting violations. That wasn’t a big deal, though, because Michigan began the season at home against East Carolina, UNLV, and Bowling Green. McCarthy and the Wolverines were fine for those games, but Harbaugh would face additional suspensions throughout the season.
Around the halfway point of the season, word spread that the Michigan football team was being investigated for unlawful sign stealing. The offender turned out to be Connor Stalions, a low-level employee.
Stallion purchased tickets for friends and others to attend upcoming opponents’ games and videotape the sidelines with cell phones. After the probe had lasted a few weeks, Stalions resigned. People began to mistrust McCarthy and Michigan, claiming that their recent success was solely due to sign-stealing.
Jim Harbaugh was able to coach for Michigan for a few weeks after the investigation began, but with three weeks remaining, he was suspended by the Big Ten for the final three weeks of the regular season, forcing offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore to take over head coaching duties for Michigan’s most difficult stretch of the season: games against #10 Penn State, Maryland, and #2 Ohio State. Furthermore, they suspended him less than 24 hours before the Penn State game, while the Michigan team plane was on its way to Happy Valley.
The sign-stealing probe began as a disaster for the Michigan football team, but it really gave the Wolverines an extra boost. This squad already had all the incentive in the world to win a national championship, but then they heard all the outsiders declare that the only reason they had won the previous two seasons was because they were cheating. Leaders such as McCarthy contributed significantly to their ability to turn things around.
Michigan subsequently defeated Penn State and Ohio State without Harbaugh, winning their third consecutive Big Ten title, beating Alabama in the Rose Bowl, and defeating Washington to win the national championship. It was an extremely crucial football season in Ann Arbor. JJ McCarthy achieved all of his aims.
McCarthy is now on his way to the NFL, and everyone wants to know where he will finish up. McCarthy appeared to be a late first or early second round pick when the college football season concluded, but he has subsequently risen rapidly up the boards. Some people now rank him as the second-best quarterback in the draft. It’ll be interesting to see where McCarthy ends up and how he performs at the NFL combine. McCarthy could be a suitable fit for the following teams.
Minnesota Vikings
