The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1510053
16 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2023 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS 4 Passes thrown by junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the fourth quarter through seven contests, showing how dominant the Wolverines have been, playing with big leads and allowing the backups to close contests out. NUMBERS AND QUOTES 5t 5th Is where junior quarterback J.J. McCARTHY's $1.4 million On3 NIL Valuation ranks among college football play- ers, behind three fellow signal-callers in Colorado's Shedeur Sanders ($4.8 million), Texas' Arch Manning ($2.8 million) and USC's Caleb Williams ($2.7 million), along with Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter ($2.3 million). On On3's overall list of all college athletes, McCarthy checks in eighth overall, with USC basket- ball's Bronny James ($5.9 million) slotting first, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne ($3.2 million) ranking third and LSU women's basketball's Angel Reese ($1.7 million) standing seventh. McCarthy has the highest valuation of any Big Ten player, with Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. ($1.2 million) ranking 13th overall and second in the conference. U-M senior running back Blake Corum (No. 21, $844,000), senior wide receiver Roman Wilson (No. 67, $560,000) and senior right guard Zak Zinter (No. 97, $496,000) are the Wolverines' other representatives in the college football top 100. No. 5 Overall is where junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy was selected in Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema's 2024 NFL mock draft released Oct. 2. He was projected as the third signal-caller off the board, behind USC's Caleb Williams (No. 1) and North Carolina's Drake Maye (No. 3). CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso dropped a mock Oct. 11 and placed McCarthy sixth overall and third among quarterbacks behind Williams and Maye. "It shows you just how effectively we're going to be able to program all that exposure. We've got the windows and the reach. But the second part of that is making sure that we're putting great matchups everywhere we can, and I think we're doing that now. It's going to another level next year. We look at the depth of the games that we're talking about, and it's just going to make each of those telecasts even stronger. We're off to a good start. It's the right pattern. I think it's unprecedented." — Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti to The Athletic on the conference's recently released football opponent breakdown for 2024-28 The thing to remem- ber with McCarthy: He plays for Jim Har- baugh. This is not the Col- orado or USC offense — McCarthy's opportunities are limited and almost always have to come within structure, a real- ity that would crank up the pressure for many young QBs. Michigan's junior passer, however, continues to han- dle it well while still being a threat with his legs as a passer with good size." — The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner on junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy as an NFL Draft prospect "The thing that impresses me the most about Roman Wilson is how much effort he gives in all portions of his game. This is a much smaller wide receiver who is putting his all into blocking his ass off when the runs are coming behind him. Of course, he is one of the fastest players on the field — we already know that — he's so shifty, he's great at finding that open space, get- ting those yards after catch." — Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema on senior wide receiver Roman Wilson "I think they're the best football team I've seen in 11 years of being a head coach. I've never seen a football team like that, that deep. They're one of the deepest teams, one of the best teams, one of the biggest teams, fastest teams, strongest teams, and they do not make mistakes. They are truly like a boa constrictor, and they do not beat themselves. They're very good at each posi- tion. They're very aligned with everything that they do. They know who they are, and they go and execute that game plan. There were times they did it at will tonight." — Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck after losing to Michigan Oct. 7, 52-10 PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL