Every snap from JJ McCarthy's IMG debut
Nice to see all his throws, not just the highlights.
Overall impression:
- Already has tremendous pocket awareness.
- Very accurate, even when he is on the move.
- Seems to scan the field well, not always just looking for the big play and makes dump off plays to his running backs for 1st downs (Tom Brady esque).
- Athletic, will be a option threat and can extend plays.
- Decisive and aggressive. Looks like a natural leader, not easily rattled.
- Needs to work on throwing on the run. He sort of throws his entire body into deep passes on the run. Throwing power seems limited when he doesn't plant his feet.
- Mechanics throwing off the run and his deep ball accuracy should improve with the strength training program.
- Seems to have that improvisational IT factor that so many successful college quarterbacks have (Mayfield, Manziel, etc.)
September 8th, 2020 at 9:40 AM ^
Very nice to see this.
I thought his accuracy was a little off on short throws. He missed a short route early in the video, an easy touchdown to his right on another short route, and the end of the video had a few of them back to back. I think those can be ironed out though. Probably just got too excited.
His downfield accuracy is pretty good but his receivers failed to bring in the ball more than a few times. Some of those catches were tough but big college receivers like Nico and DPJ would have brought them in more than likely.
His offensive line was like a sieve at times, especially on the right side. IMG's right tackle had issues all night long, sometimes allowing uncontested pressure on JJ. Credit to JJ for handling it very well every time! That was probably the most impressive thing I saw.
To build off of that, you're right about his improvisation or "it factor". He's got that for sure.
Overall a good performance but I hope he can clear up those short passes as the season goes on.
EDIT: My mistake with the early short miss I talked about. He hit his receiver right between then numbers but the guy couldn't haul it in. That was obviously on the receiver. Lots of drops overall in the video.
September 8th, 2020 at 9:50 AM ^
Agreed about the short throw accuracy, might just need to learn when to laser it and when to float it.
Funny you mentioned the right tackle. He's actually one of the top UM targets for the 2022 class, Tyler Booker. Crippen is also playing center, he dug a few balls at JJ's feet which are a bit concerning but was pretty solid overall. Here's a link to the scouting report of the two lineman as well.
Side note: Jacorey Brooks is a baller. He's a 5* receiver committed to Bama. McCarthy and Brooks clearly are playing at a different level than everybody else. Should be fun to watch McCarthy playing with Xavier Worthy and AJ Henning in the future.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:22 AM ^
Funny, I had almost the opposite reaction. I thought his timing and touch on the short and swing passes was great - that's where he got a lot of yards by setting up his athletes in space. I wanted to see more accuracy on his downfield pass attempts - one great completion to a TE but the others were mixed results. Also, I could use fewer back foot throws. They didn't affect the results a ton and I like QBs who don't need to be perfectly set when they throw....but it is a potentially bad habit when you get to the next level and defenses are a lot more talented.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:59 AM ^
I agree, I thought JJ was accurate and crisp on short throws. Tbh I don't think there was a large enough sample of deep passes to really say one way or another how he was doing. He looked pretty solid on intermediate passes as well
September 8th, 2020 at 10:49 AM ^
I think between Crippen and Anderson, Anderson is more likely to end up as a center so if Crippen did well in terms of protection I’m not as concerned about the wonky snaps.
September 8th, 2020 at 9:57 AM ^
I'll watch this video later, when I get home. But I did watch the first quarter of the game, which was enough to send me off to bed happy (at ~2AM). IMG had a comfortable 21-0 lead, and the outcome was no longer in doubt. I thought McCarthy looked quite natural, at ease, and comfortable in the pocket - even with a rush. IMG moved the ball easily, and JJ put it all over the field quickly and decisively.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:08 AM ^
His throwing on the run didn't seem like a problem to me. It was the difficult of throws he tried to make on the run that made it look bad. A righthander rolling to his left is going to have trouble throwing on the run, across his body more than 10 yards downfield, though it will improve with proper mechanics and a college strength program. Some of those throws would be picked off in college, but that's something he will work on in practice.
His arm strength isn't elite, but we knew that already. Not gonna be a gunslinger with a Stafford level arm, but it's more than strong enough to be a very good college Qb.
September 8th, 2020 at 11:00 AM ^
Yep, he was constantly forced to roll out to his left and throw across his body which is more indictment on his OL than him
September 8th, 2020 at 11:02 AM ^
I’m trying to reconcile “lacking elite arm strength” with “fantastic arm talent. Can make every throw on the field, is consistent with accuracy and placement and has clean mechanics” in his 247 scouting report or a grade of 8 Arm Strength in their Skills Chart.
I suppose you’re saying he’s more of a laser than a howitzer?
September 8th, 2020 at 11:07 AM ^
Seems like he can make all the throws on the field given the right circumstances (feet set, squared shoulders) but doesn't have that flick of the wrist type launch (Like Mahomes or Rodgers) which would give him elite arm talent. Some QB's can roll out and just throw a bomb off the back of their foot. JJ doesn't seem to have that type of strength.
September 8th, 2020 at 12:00 PM ^
re: "given the right circumstances", this makes sense. That "Stafford level arm" comment a few posts up threw me off as I thought his arm was considered to be elite...at least at one point.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:38 PM ^
Not too concerned about his strength as he's probably only 17.
September 8th, 2020 at 3:05 PM ^
For a 17 year old kid he demonstrated plenty of arm strength. That TD throw to the back of the EZ between 3 defenders told me all I need to know about this...here one can question his judgement but not his ability. And before you do criticize his judgement, I believe he is light years ahead of what we have seen at Michigan the last five years. This young man, first and foremost, moves the chains...and here I could not be more pleased.
September 8th, 2020 at 3:08 PM ^
Double post: Fishing the Boundary Waters next week.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:55 AM ^
Besides the almost pick 6 where he just missed the safety, he had a great game. 5 of his passes were bad drops so he actually should've been like 28-37 on passes. He wasn't asked to throw the ball down field that often and was more just asked to get the ball in playmakers hands. 3 of his TD passes were legit throws
September 8th, 2020 at 2:13 PM ^
He had a lot of screens, which now we know he can do well. I hope they let him air it out some. When he threw deep, they were good passes but his receivers weren’t up to the challenge. The coaches want to keep it simple and they have some speedsters that can break screens for TDs, so I get the playcalling. I’d like to see some more deep balls though; maybe later in the season, after they develop some chemistry.
September 8th, 2020 at 11:32 AM ^
Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but did it seem to anyone else that, he seems to put extra spin on the ball when he releases it? When it's a tight spiral, the ball really fires out of his hand. When his release is a bit off (a couple times when he was on the move), the extra spin causes the ball to wobble a bit more.Obviously, as a high school kid, he's got plenty of time to refine his delivery. I was just wondering if that's something that he's picked up in his extensive training. I know every QB puts spin on the ball to facilitate the spiral, but his release just seemed to really emphasize that wrist roll.
September 8th, 2020 at 12:31 PM ^
Would be interesting to see a side by side comparison of his tape to Shea Patterson's (who also wen to IMG, so strength of competition should be similar).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVIJCooX_6E
They both look like they played a similar style in HS, both very mobile and have the ability to extend the play when the pocket collapses. McCarthy honestly looks a bit more erratic but Patterson was top QB in his class so its not all that surprising that his tape looks great.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:28 PM ^
Patterson was amazing in high school. I remember watching the all-star game and he was flat out the best QB. He was a stud. Should have had a much better college career.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:27 PM ^
Lots and lots and lots of short passes, screens, and dump-offs...nice to see a few longer throws but a lot of the stat line from that game is YAC.
September 9th, 2020 at 9:04 AM ^
Respectfully
You can kiss recruits like that goodbye if you don’t fire Schlissel.
September 9th, 2020 at 9:52 AM ^
love his footwork -- obviously he's a 5-star so the scouts have said it all but yes, I'm hopeful he can be a superstar under harbaugh's tutelage!
September 10th, 2020 at 1:58 AM ^
I agree he's the real deal...A little bit of Shea in his game but I think he has a much higher ceiling.