"That conference stunk": Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo dismisses former Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy's 2023 season in latest rant
Former Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been predicted to be a top-five pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
McCarthy, who was on the Wolverines' national championship-winning team last season, is part of a strong quarterback class containing the likes of Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye. The Wolverines were also crowned the Big Ten champions after a 26-0 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes.
However, while the players mentioned above are all seen as definite top-five picks, critics appear to be divided over J.J. McCarthy.
On Wednesday's edition of FS1's "Undisputed," New York radio legend Chris "Mad Dog" Russo gave his views on McCarthy's status as a top-five quarterback and his championship-winning season with Michigan.
"That schedule was awful," Russo said. "That conference stunk. I don't care what he (J.J. McCarthy) did against Nebraska. I don't care what he did against Purdue, Bowling Green or Rutgers. I'm going to look at four or five games. "
Russo has downplayed J.J. McCarthy's achievements from the 2023 season due to the schedule the Wolverines had.
Michigan faced ranked opposition in only five of its 15 games last season. Removing the two College Football Playoff games against the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Washington Huskies (for which McCarthy threw for 221 and 140 yards, respectively), the Wolverines faced in-conference ranked opposition three times.
Only two of these matchups were against strong opposition. During U of M's victory over rivals, the Ohio State Buckeyes, McCarthy only threw for 148 yards. But against the Penn State Nittany Lions, he barely touched the ball, having only eight passing attempts, and none of them came in the second half, with McCarthy only recording 60 yards.
It is worth mentioning that Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar also struggled to pass the ball that day, throwing for 70 yards, but had 22 passing attempts.
When he was not playing against ranked opposition, J.J. McCarthy was fairly strong, normally throwing for over 200 yards a game. But, as Russo said, these performances, while impressive, aren't going to turn many heads.
J.J. McCarthy and Michigan's reliance on the run game
While McCarthy was able to win the national championship, he was not the main part of the Wolverines offense last season. This could be surprising to some, as the likes of Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels were the main reason their teams had success last season.
The Wolverines played little of their pass game, leading some to say that McCarthy's talents in the quarterback position are mostly unknown as they were not seen much.
Instead, the Wolverines were dominant on the ground, with running back Blake Corum, who ran for 1245 yards and scored 27 touchdowns, five more than the 22 that McCarthy scored last season.
While J.J. McCarthy has the potential to become a franchise quarterback, there are many unknowns to his play style, mostly due to the lack of opposition he faced at Michigan and the Wolverines' heavy reliance on the running game. NFL teams will only find out how good McCarthy could be if they take the risk and draft him.
Do you think that J.J. McCarthy is a top-five ranked player, or are his abilities inflated due to the weaker teams he faced?