It’s no secret that Jim Harbaugh was a big fan of JJ McCarthy. In fact, Harbaugh said on multiple occasions that he believed McCarthy was the greatest quarterback to ever play football at the University of Michigan.
“I’ve said it before, but right here, this is the greatest quarterback in University of Michigan—college football history. Got a long way to go to get to get where Tom Brady eventually got to, which is the GOAT. But in a college career there’s been nobody at Michigan better than JJ. I know we talk about it an amalgamation of quarterbacks. He is that guy.”
It’s safe to say that the vast majority of Michigan Football fans would agree with Harbaugh’s assessment of McCarthy, which is why most were hoping he would return for his senior season and give the folks in Ann Arbor one more year of greatness. Ultimately, McCarthy decided that it was time to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL – meaning Michigan would have to replace a guy who is seemingly irreplaceable.
Shortly after McCarthy made his announcement, Harbaugh said he saw something that he described as “beautiful”. Speaking with Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News, Harbaugh said he could see the passing of the torch starting to take place, and that he was a little sad he wouldn’t be there to see it firsthand.
“What I’m sad about is that I’m not going to be a part of this passing of the torch from, for example, JJ (McCarthy) to Jayden Denegal or Alex Orji”, Harbaugh said. “The Day JJ declared, out on the field were Jayden Denegal and Alex Orji, and they’re throwing to Kendrick Bell, and I walked by, and I was like, ‘Yea, that’s beautiful.’”
As of now, it would appear that Orji and Denegal are the top two candidates to serve as the replacement to McCarthy in 2024. True freshman Jadyn Davis will also have the opportunity to make his case, along with junior quarterback Davis Warren.
After issuing a brief statement earlier this week, Harbaugh is expected to address his now former team in Ann Arbor on Friday before departing for Los Angeles.
