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In every way, this is the exact demeanor you want out of your future quarterback — and in many ways, it reflects that of your most prolific former quarterback.
Despite being a five-star since before he committed to Michigan, J.J. McCarthy isn’t resting on his past accolades. The way he sees it, he won’t live up to the hype until he achieves something only one other has done thus far — he wants to win seven Super Bowls, one more than former Wolverines QB Tom Brady.
And what if Brady wins a seventh, himself? Well then, McCarthy wants to win eight.
Oftentimes, when you’re as highly-regarded as McCarthy is on the recruiting trail, those long-time five-stars find themselves as having peaked in high school. Why, though? Because they think they’ve made it already.
For McCarthy, what he does in high school is meaningless. Heck, even when he gets to Michigan, what he does in Ann Arbor isn’t the end goal. It’s a rung on the way to what he wants to do in life. And that drive to be the best is what propels him to be great. Not what people already think of him at this level.
So don’t expect McCarthy to sit back and relish his previous accomplishments. Not until he surpasses the G.O.A.T. in the NFL.
“I mean, I’ve been blessed to be ranked in the position I am in,” McCarthy told WolverinesWire. “I don’t even remember the last time I looked at the rankings – I don’t even know what I’m ranked now.
“But it was goal, ever since I was in fifth grade, to win more Super Bowls than Brady. That’s been my goal. And when it comes down to stuff like rankings and opinion-based stuff, it really – okay? Is that winning you a Super Bowl? Is that making any sort of impact on this next generation? That’s my definition of success. Being able to make a positive impact on the next generation.”
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It’s rare to find a national-level prospect who has such lofty aspirations who is also down-to-earth and humble as McCarthy is.
His goals are just that — aspirations, not predictions.
He doesn’t want to be one of those five-stars that leaves college while everyone asks what went wrong between high school and his departure from upper education. So while he appreciates that he’s so highly-regarded in his high school years, he sees that as something of a stepping off point. He doesn’t let it define him.
He realizes that if he lets that go to his head, it could be the death of his dreams. He understands he needs to stay motivated, as he doesn’t want to be one of those five-stars who think they have it made before actually achieving anything that will get them remembered.
So, in short, to McCarthy: stars don’t really matter. It’s what you do later that does.
“I put all of these rankings into perspective and all this media stuff, and (realize) as high schoolers we haven’t done anything yet,” McCarthy said. “We haven’t done something that’s gonna get us remembered for ten-plus years. There’s so much more that we have to accomplish and that we have to get done to where the rankings and that ego that a lot of the five-stars get categorized with is something that doesn’t even come into my brain. I mean five-stars’ great, but at the end of the day, who remembers who the five-star of the 2013 class is? I’m sure if we pulled it up, but –
“You see so many people in the Super Bowl, they show the rankings, their stars and stuff – none of that really matters. It’s what you do with it and how you come in day in and day out.”
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