Athletic article ($$) on JJ from a Chicago Bears scouting perspective

First of all, eff the Athletic. 

I canceled my subscription following their breathless and completely one-sided reporting on the "GREATEST SCANDAL IN CFB HISTORY" but the check has cleared and I have access until they deactivate my login. 

The gist of the article is a scouting look at JJ from the Bears' perspective - how does he compare to Williams/Maye and would he be a package deal with Harbaugh if coach leaves UM?  As a Bears fan, I can tell you that Harbaugh remains a (pipe?) dream candidate for a lot of folks in Chicago, so consume this article with that caveat.

I hope Ari Wasserman, Stewie Mandel and Bruce Feldman aren't upset with me for posting a few blocks of content from behind the paywall.  To show my contrition, here's the link to the full article which you could read, I guess: 

https://theathletic.com/5109078/2023/12/04/bears-michigan-qb-jj-mccarthy/

An excerpt:

I saw McCarthy play in high school. Notre Dame, my alma mater, hosted Nazareth and McCarthy in Week 8 of the 2019 season. They were two of the best teams in Illinois at the time. Nazareth was No. 3 and Notre Dame No. 8 in the Chicago Sun-Times’ top 25.

It was McCarthy’s junior season. Before it began, he had committed to Harbaugh and Michigan. He and the Roadrunners, one of the best teams annually in Illinois, won the 7A state championship a season earlier with McCarthy starting as a sophomore.

It was a close game against Notre Dame, a defensive battle. Nazareth led by a touchdown at halftime and its one score was pick-six by its defense in the first quarter.

I watched the game from the end zone. I remember thinking something along the lines of, “OK, this is the kid going to Michigan? What’s so special about him?”

And then you saw it.

In the second half, McCarthy ripped a laser down the right sideline for a long gain. It went for 40 or 50 yards. It changed the game. The velocity and arc of McCarthy’s throw stood out initially, but he also hit his receiver in stride. It was different. It was D-I.

At least, that’s how I remember the throw and that moment.

Nazareth defeated Notre Dame 21-0 that night. Nazareth scored a late touchdown for the final margin. Nazareth made another run at a state title with McCarthy, eventually losing to Mount Carmel — another state power from Chicago’s South Side — in the 7A championship game. It was Nazareth’s only loss that season.

The 2020 high school season in Illinois was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. McCarthy wanted to play and left for national powerhouse IMG Academy in Florida. The wins kept coming for him. The losses never did. IMG went 8-0 and finished No. 1 in USA Today’s national rankings. McCarthy was named the 2020 MaxPreps Florida Player of the Year.

Nazareth, though, never left McCarthy’s Michigan bio. The story about his relationship with UNLV defensive lineman Ryan Keeler, a teammate and close friend at Nazareth who died in February from a heart arrhythmia, has endured throughout this season.

And another: 

When you ask evaluators about the top quarterbacks for the upcoming draft, they rave about Williams and Maye’s physical gifts.

It’s their arms, legs, creativity and more.

With McCarthy, the praise is different. It always starts with his intangibles. It’s everything that Harbaugh said after Michigan beat Iowa. There is something to him. He’s widely considered a great teammate. They love him.

“He’s a winner,” a scout said.

Others said the same thing about him.

The Wolverines are 25-1 with McCarthy as their starter. He just wins. McCarthy was like that in high school, too. He went 36-2. His college record will improve his stock with many teams. He’s the first Michigan quarterback to beat Ohio State in back-to-back seasons since 1990-91.

His team-first demeanor, energy, moxie and presence deserve to be highlighted. McCarthy was the first one to congratulate Michigan’s field goal unit when it came off the field every time against Iowa. He seemingly hugged everyone at the end of the game.

And one more:

“Good but not elite traits across the board,” a scout said. “He’s athletic and can make all the throws. He has made some bad decisions this year, which we didn’t see much last year. But he plays in a pro-style offense, which NFL offensive coordinators and QB coaches will love. He can call a huddle and spit out plays.

“He might not have the upside of Williams or Maye, but he probably has a higher floor. It wouldn’t be a complete shock if he ends up being the best of the bunch.”

Again, with all quarterbacks, some projection is needed. With McCarthy, you can argue that more is needed than Williams, Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels. McCarthy has played in enough games. But has he thrown enough passes to evaluate him?

Williams has 1,099 attempts in his three-year career at Oklahoma and USC. Daniels totaled 1,432 playing at Arizona State and LSU. Maye has 952 at North Carolina. McCarthy has only 668 pass attempts over his three seasons at Michigan. He threw eight passes in Michigan’s victory against Penn State on Nov. 11.

Harbaugh has described him as the best quarterback in Michigan history and he has compared him to Andrew Luck, whom Harbaugh coached at Stanford. But Luck threw 1,064 passes over three seasons in college.

This feels like nitpicking, though. Williams is likely first in the draft class; Maye is second. But McCarthy remains in the first-round mix if he declares for the draft. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had him as a first-rounder and the fourth quarterback selected in his first mock draft.