The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 47 when he's on the field, and he's taken it to another level this season, grad student of- fensive guard Trevor Keegan noted. "That's what we expect from J.J.," Keegan said. "We know who he is. He's a ballplayer. It's been the same guy since he came in — confident, carries a swagger, but not cocky at all. "Everybody loves J.J. He talks to every- body and has a relationship with every- body. He is definitely in the mold of the culture we've needed." As Harbaugh often likes to say, McCar- thy is one who "won't flinch" in the face of pressure or adversity. If something goes wrong, he's not one to dwell — he wants to get about fixing it immediately, one of the reasons he doesn't spend much time think- ing about the TCU loss. "The page was turned once that clock hit zero. We had to focus on, 'How are we go- ing to prepare to beat a team like that a year from now?'" McCarthy said. "We definitely took some time to dis- connect from football. We are all human beings, and going through an eight-month season takes a lot out of you — just every aspect of yourself." Then they got back to dissecting the loss and breaking it down, he said, attacking it from every angle. Football is everything to him, after all, and he's intent on getting Michigan to the next level — past the semi- finals to the national championship game. The biggest goal is to win it all, and he believes his Wolverines have the tal- ent to do it. With No. 9 under center, it wouldn't surprise at all to see them take that leap in 2023. ❑ J.J. McCarthy is entering his second season as Michigan's starting quarterback. The following is a look at how the last five multi-year starting U-M signal callers fared in their second years as full-time starters: Shea Patterson, 2018-19: The Mississippi transfer got off to a solid start in his career at Michigan, leading the Wolverines to 10 straight victories after an opening game loss at Notre Dame. He completed 210 of 325 passes for 2,600 yards with 22 touchdowns and rushed 76 times for 273 yards and 2 touchdowns. He became a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and earned the team's offensive player of the year honors. Patterson's completion percentage went down to 56 from 65 in Year 2, but he threw for 3,061 yards, becoming only the third Michigan quarterback to eclipse 3,000 in a season. He was the team's MVP and a third-team All-Big Ten selection for the second consecutive year. Wilton Speight, 2016-17: Speight was the surprise of the 2016 season, receiving third-team All-Big Ten recognition after completing 204 of 331 passes for 2,538 yards with 18 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. A shoulder injury suffered at Iowa slowed him against Ohio State, but he played through it and nearly led the team to a win in Columbus. He wouldn't be so fortunate the following season. Speight played only four games before going down with a serious injury at Purdue, one that would cost him the rest of the season. He completed only 44 of his 81 passes (54 percent) for 581 yards with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Devin Gardner, 2012-13: Gardner started the 2012 season at wide receiver with Denard Robinson taking the snaps, but he became the starter Nov. 3 at Minnesota after Robinson went down with an injury at Nebraska. Gardner accounted for at least 2 touchdowns in each of his five starts at quarterback and earned Big Ten Of- fensive Player of the Week honors twice. He completed 75 of 126 passes for 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns with 5 interceptions. Gardner blossomed the following year, completing 208 of 345 passes for 2,960 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also carried the ball 165 times for 483 yards and 11 TDs. He dominated in a win over Notre Dame and in a last-second loss to Ohio State. Denard Robinson, 2010-11: Robinson took over for Tate Forcier in Year 2 after playing situationally as a true freshman in 2009, and what a debut he had. His first two games were as good as any quarterback in Michigan history, a dominant showing against UConn and even better at Notre Dame (502 total yards). He would go on to finish sixth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and win Big Ten Of- fensive Player of the Year honors. His numbers dipped in his second season as a starter, from 1,702 rushing to 1,176 and from 2,570 passing to 2,173. His interceptions went up from 11 to 15 and his completion percentage down from 63 to 55. Chad Henne, 2004-05: Henne enjoyed a tremendous true freshman season, leading the Wolverines to a Big Ten title and the Rose Bowl. He threw for 2,743 yards in 2004 — still the sixth-best single-season mark in school history — and a record 25 touchdowns. The Michigan offense struggled with injuries to some of the team's best offensive players in 2005 — tackle Jake Long and running back Mike Hart both missed time — and Henne's numbers dropped a bit in a 7-5 campaign. He still threw for 2,526 yards and 23 touchdowns, but his completion percentage dipped from 60 to 58. — Chris Balas Second-Year Successes, Struggles In 2019, his second season at Michigan after transferring from Ole Miss, Shea Patterson passed for 3,061 yards, becoming only the third Wolverine to surpass 3,000 yards in a season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL