When will they ever learn? It just doesn’t ever seem to end well when Michigan players and recruits poke the Ohio State bear.
Wolverine quarterback recruit and early enrollee, JJ McCarthy decided to stoke the flames of the biggest rivalry college football with some comments made to SI.com fan page Wolverine Digest. When asked about the Buckeyes, McCarthy was quoted as saying “I used to love them, now I want to kill them.”
Those words themselves won’t surprise anyone who knows how deep this rivalry goes. But it was the comments that came after that will fan the flames. McCarthy continued on saying that OSU head coach Ryan Day had been less than honest during the quarterback’s recruitment and then went on to say how there was no family feel on his official visit.
“I used to love them, now I want to kill them”, said McCarthy. “Coach Day told me he wasn’t going to take a 2021 quarterback until the end of summer or anything like that because he wanted to make sure everything was all good, so I didn’t really worry about all that during my visit. But I didn’t get that feeling when I was there. I really didn’t, with all the coaches there and how they interacted with us, I didn’t feel the big family tradition part of it. It was either you’re good at football or you’re over here. That’s what I felt.”
“I get it’s a business, but it always sucks being lied to. And that’s kind of where the rivalry started for me. And the hatred. But what are you going to do? It’s a business and they have to do what they have to do. They lied to my face, but it’s all good now.”
Interesting. Especially when current Ohio State players talk glowingly of Day and the family atmosphere he has created in Columbus. It kind of feels like McCarthy got his feelings hurt that Ohio State had their eye on other QB recruits.
Looking around the locker room at guys like CJ Stroud, Jack Miller, and recently signed Kyle McCord, Day wants the best, and not only the best, but guys that want to compete against. And that doesn’t even consider the commitment o Quinn Ewers, the nation’s No. 1 overall player in 2022.
I’ll add his other throws later. Since there are both Ohio State and Michigan commits here tonight, I feel obligated to pick a winner.
JJ McCarthy looked good, had one WOW throw. McCord better, crisper, cleaner, more on time and on target.
— Brad McDaniel (@DW_BMack) July 1, 2020
In a world where everything that comes out of your mouth can be documented, McCarthy took things to another level by making it personal against Ryan Day and the family culture he’s creating at Ohio State.
McCarthy is a talented kid for sure and possibly the answer Jim Harbaugh has been looking for since arriving in Ann Arbor. However, he just made things a little more difficult for himself and I’m sure the guys in Columbus will remember when they see each other on the field.
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