ANN ARBOR, Mich. — ‘What happened to J.J. McCarthy?’ many pundits have asked in the latter third of the Michigan football season. Well, aside from playing against tougher defenses (Penn State‘s No. 1, Ohio State‘s No. 3, and Iowa is No. 5), the Wolverines’ signal-caller has been banged up since early in the Penn State game.
While that hasn’t been a secret by any means, he further confirmed that on Monday as the maize and blue prepare to take on Alabama in the Rose Bowl on January 1.
“All I could say is I just wasn’t at 100%,” McCarthy said. “Yeah, that’s about it. Yeah.”
McCarthy has had some health issues all season long, actually. He shared after the Minnesota game in Week 6 that he was dealing with an ankle injury. Following the Penn State game, it was revealed he was dealing with another leg injury, made apparent by his lack of pass attempts as well as scrambling compared to before Week 10.
So, while McCarthy spoke of his status throughout the latter part of the season indicating that he was feeling close to 100%, he says that wasn’t exactly the case.
“If you know any athletes, you know it’s a little bit worse than (they’re) leading on,” McCarthy said. “But I’m completely fine, now feel 100% healthy, and I’m ready to go out there. Because these are the games you save your body for. So I’m excited to be all out for this one.”
As he noted, he’s now feeling up to the task of facing the Crimson Tide physically. The Wolverines aren’t pushing the players as hard as they have in the past during bowl prep practices, which is good given that at times in previous years, players were a little physically worn down.
But McCarthy not only likes where he’s at, but he’s pleased with what he’s seen from the team now that they’ve returned to the preparation of a game, with the College Football Playoff semifinal coming up in two weeks.
“Amazing, I feel completely rejuvenated after that little week off,” McCarthy said. “And I’m just ready to get back out on the football field tomorrow. That’s just kind of the whole, like, vibe to the team right now is just trying to get out there and play ball and get better.”