Michigan Transfer Target Has Surprising JJ McCarthy, Caleb Williams Connection

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nick Meyer | Last updated Jun 15, 2025 1:41 PM ET

The Michigan Wolverines hosted former Miami Hurricanes and East Carolina Pirates quarterback Jake Garcia this past week, teasing the possibility of adding another quarterback to their current room of players.

The Wolverines have been busy working with five-star freshman Bryce Underwood, former highly ranked QB Jadyn Davis and transfer Mikey Keene in hopes of stabilizing their playing rotation heading into the 2025-26 season.

Garcia was highly ranked coming out of high school, and has a surprising connection to former number one overall pick Caleb Williams and top ten draft pick JJ McCarthy, who led Michigan to the 2023-24 National Championship.

Garcia was ranked 16th among all quarterback prospects according to 247Sports.com coming out of high school in 2021, before committing to the Miami Hurricanes.

He was part of an outstanding group of future college quarterbacks at the time including McCarthy, who ranked 6th among all QBs.

Departed Texas Longhorns star Quinn Ewers ranked number one overall, followed by future Heisman winner Caleb Williams in the second spot followed by future first round pick Drake Maye at the fourth spot.

Garcia was ranked ahead of 2025 Heisman favorite Garrett Nussmeier of LSU and other familiar names including Illinois' Luke Altmyer at 30.

Current Wolverines wide receiver Donoven McCulley was listed as the 24th overall QB in the class before heading to Indiana and switching positions.

Garcia has plenty of experience with three seasons under his belt including two with the Hurricanes and one with the Pirates in 2024.

His statistics paint the picture of a player who must improve by leaps and bounds to become an effective college player.

He recorded 1,426 passing yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season with ECU, completing 60.2 percent of his passes, suggesting he must greatly improve his accuracy and cut down on mistakes to become a high level quarterback.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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