J.J. McCarthy rebounds on final day of Elite 11

How the Wolverines commit did in the final two days of the elite quarterback competition.

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On Monday, Michigan’s premier 2021 commit in five-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy put on a show at the yearly Elite 11 event, hosted this year in Nashville in lieu of the standard California.

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He returned to action on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, drawing accolades from those in attendance, thus proving that the Wolverines got a good one in the eventual mid-year enrollee.

WolverinesWire compiled some of the reactions and videos, so you can see first-hand what the future maize and blue signal caller looked like at the national competition.

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Day Two

The second day of the Elite 11 was held as something of a ‘Pro Day,’ similar to what one would see at the college level when departing players would showcase their abilities for NFL coaches, general managers and scouts.

It was postponed somewhat on Tuesday to the evening due to inclement weather in the Nashville area, however, once it got going, McCarthy volunteered to go first, thus setting the bar while the other quarterbacks in attendance got to see what they were getting into.

While his day wasn’t perfect, he still looked mostly sharp. Impressive, again, given that he was the first quarterback to partake in the drills.

If he started okay-to-strong, he certainly ended on a high note, throwing an absolute bullet on his final pass of the game.

If there’s one thing that can be said about the future Wolverine, it’s that he can make all of the throws there are to make.

Here’s an alternate angle:

In a conversation with 247Sports’ Allen Trieu for The Detroit News, The Michigan Insider’s Josh Newkirk shared his thoughts on what he’d seen from McCarthy in the first two days of the Nashville event:

“I’ve seen him, I think this is the third or fourth time in person,” Newkirk said, “and the No. 1 thing I see is he’s consistent, whether that’s a high school game, 7-on-7 or in a camp setting. That was evident again last evening. It is elite competition, the top quarterbacks in the country, and he didn’t look like he got invited because he’s committed to Michigan. He belongs here. I’m not going to say he will win it, but he’s among the elite.”

While he finished at No. 7 after day one, despite some accolades on the second day, with just 34 points out of a possible 60, McCarthy finished day two at No. 9 in the official rankings.

However, given the eye test and using his own rankings, Rivals.com’s Woody Womack had McCarthy as his third-best quarterback on day two, behind Ohio State commit Kyle McCord and Florida commit Carlos Del Rio.

3. J.J. McCarthy (Michigan commit) — McCarthy led off the night and gets credit for stepping up and going early. One thing he’s really improved and showed off on Tuesday is his ability to throw on the move. During one throw he bumped into the coach simulating the pass rush and despite being off balance he delivered a throw down the field and right on the money. McCarthy finished ninth in the official scoring.

But there would be another day for McCarthy to rebound and ensure he made the coveted top ten.

Day Three/Final Ranking

Wednesday signaled the culmination of the event, where the 20 quarterbacks duked it out to make the top 10 of the Elite 11, and they did so in the target challenge — which is what it sounds like.

Rivals.com’s EJ Holland — who has done the best of anyone covering McCarthy in the event — captured his first four throws of the day.

He performed a bit better going last rather than first, coming in ranked No. 6 for day three’s challenges.

According to Sports Illustrated, that’s the perfect place for McCarthy, as they used advanced metrics to determine accuracy in the final day’s challenge.

6. J.J. McCarthy, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy

Grade: 1.90

Total throws: 22

Threes: 5

Twos: 11

Ones: 6

Time: 2:50.22

SI continued to be high on McCarthy overall, as they had him No. 2 overall over the course of the three-day competition.

2. J.J. McCarthy – Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy

Composite Score: 4.0

Day 1 Rank: 4

Day 2 Rank: 2

Day 3 Rank: 6

Entering the camp, McCarthy was one of the few quarterbacks who could make all of the throws on tape. He proved that in a camp setting every day at Elite 11, looking comfortable throwing to all three levels of the field and never finishing below sixth place out of 20 in Sports Illustrated All-American‘s daily rankings. McCarthy finished fifth in Elite 11’s accuracy gauntlet scores and sixth by our scores in the same drill, displaying great accuracy with 16 on-target throws on 22 attempts. He carried swagger throughout the week and never seemed to lose his step.

He spoke with Holland after the event as he awaited to hear if he’s squarely one of the Elite 11, saying that he could have done better, but that he’s still pleased with his performance.

McCarthy entered the final day of the competition ranked No. 9 overall but should move up based on today’s performance.

Still, McCarthy was his own biggest critic following the event.

“I don’t think I performed the best that I could and what my potential is,” McCarthy said. “But I learned a lot. In order to succeed, you have to fail sometimes. It’s all about putting the pads on. It’s always great throwing in shorts and a t-shirt. When you look at Tom Brady, Joe Burrow and all those guys, they didn’t even make it here. It’s just the mentality of moving forward, getting past this and focusing on the next step.”

McCarthy might not have been the alpha dog/MVP — that distinction went to uncommitted five-star dual-threat Caleb Williams. But he did enough to still warrant being in the top group.

247Sports’ recruiting experts weighed in with their thoughts, putting McCarthy in at No. 7, noting his consistency in the three-day event.

7. J.J. MCCARTHY, MICHIGAN COMMIT

J.J. McCarthy was flat out solid all three days. The Illinois native, who will play his senior season at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, was consistent and precise on both Monday and Tuesday showcasing some high-level throws. Wednesday, he finished near the top of the pack. The ball doesn’t exactly pop out of McCarthy’s arms, but the future Michigan quarterback has the tools and makeup of someone that can Power 5 level. He’s ranked as No. 2 pro-style quarterback this cycle.

For now, we wait to hear where McCarthy comes in via the final rankings, which are due out some time Wednesday evening. WolverinesWire will update this space with his final ranking once it has been released.