20 days. That is how much longer we will have to wait until the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines and No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide face off in the Rose Bowl (CFP) for a shot at the national title game. Over the past few weeks, Michigan football quarterback JJ McCarthy has been battling a lower-body injury, causing a noticeable drop in his production for Michigan’s offense. This, in turn, caused McCarthy to all but drop from the Heisman Trophy race and plummet in the latest mock drafts — some are even talking about a potential return for McCarthy in 2024. If that is to happen, new hype is already starting to brew for the former five-star QB.
New hype for Michigan football quarterback
JJ McCarthy is arguably the best Michigan football quarterback that the program has seen in quite some time — he is a three-time Big Ten Champion, the 2023 Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, and more. Additionally, he has a shot at bringing a national title back to Ann Arbor for the first time since 1997, which is a massive deal in its own right.
This fall, Michigan football had two players finish in the top 10 in Heisman Trophy voting: Blake Corum and JJ McCarthy, who both earned at least one first-place vote. That said, next year, FOX analyst Joel Klatt thinks that Michigan’s former five-star quarterback prospect is capable of winning it all.
JJ McCarthy pinned as a potential top 5 Heisman Trophy candidate
In one of Klatt’s latest podcast predictions, he named his top five “way-too-early” Heisman Trophy candidates for the 2024 season. Among his top three, coming in at No. 3, is JJ McCarthy, who Klatt feels could thrive behind a young Wolverines team that has a shot at contending next fall despite some key losses like Blake Corum.
Ahead of the Michigan football quarterback in Klatt’s top-five is Jalen Milroe (quarterback, Alabama), who McCarthy will be facing in the Rose Bowl shortly, as well as Quinn Ewers (quarterback, Texas), who McCarthy could see next September if he chooses to stick around.
A lot remains to be seen when it comes to Michigan’s quarterback situation in 2024
There are a lot of decisions to be made between now and next fall for JJ McCarthy and the Michigan football program as a whole. That said, if McCarthy is to decide that he will benefit from one more season in Ann Arbor, he could very well be a Heisman contender and is already generating Heisman-caliber hype for next season.
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