4-0. That's JJ McCarthy's new record as a starting quarterback after Michigan Football took down Iowa on Saturday 34-27. It was another strong performance for the highly-promising QB, and his heroics against the Hawkeyes unsurprisingly drew some high praise from Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh.
So much so, that Harbaugh himself admitted that he actually sees a bit of himself in McCarthy (via Isaiah Hole of Wolverines Wire):
“Yeah, play your game. And there’s nobody that loves that game more than I do,” Harbaugh said. “I mean, he’s better than me. But I mean, he reminds me of a young Jimmy Harbaugh.”
Harbaugh had nothing but good things to say about McCarthy after another eyebrow-raising performance against a formidable Iowa side. The Michigan coach said that he “loves” the young QB's style of play as he described McCarthy's composure in the pocket. Harbaugh also revealed what type of conversations he had with his quarterback ahead of what turned out to be a tough test against the Hawkeyes:
“And so yeah, we talked about the importance, stressed the importance of ball security,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a very good strategy — field position, win the turnover battles, and they’re really tough to beat. So, we didn’t want to give them anything, we didn’t want to give them any of those type of gifts. We have one that came up and fortunately Donovan Edwards was heads up and got on that that loose ball back in our own end.”
Harbaugh then went on to express how much confidence he has in McCarthy and how he intends to just let the young QB play his game:
“But I thought he played a really good game, you know?” said Harbaugh. “And I dance a real fine line of not taking his special talent and overcoaching it. I do not want him to be a victim of overcoaching. So when it’s all said and done, it’s just, do you J.J., play your game. It’s really good. Just protect the ball!”
Needless to say, Jim Harbaugh likes what he's been seeing from JJ McCarthy thus far. It is clear that he has so much trust in this young man. After all, he sees himself in the lad, so what's not to love, right?