JJ McCarthy arrived to Michigan’s campus as one of the most anticipated quarterback recruits in program history, and it’s safe to say he lived up to the hype. After spending his freshman season as the back-up to former U-M quarterback Cade McNamara, McCarthy would take over the QB1 spot as a sophomore in 2022 and never look back.

McCarthy went 27-1 in his career as a starter, including a 2-0 record over Ohio State, a 2-0 record in the Big Ten championship game, a Rose Bowl victory over Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal, and a win over Washington in the 2024 national championship game. Although McCarthy doesn’t dominate the record books in terms of statistics, anyone who watched his incredible Michigan career knows he’s arguably the greatest quarterback in program history. In fact, his former head coach in Ann Arbor made that claim several times.

“I’ve said it before, but right here, this is the greatest quarterback in University of Michigan—college football history,” Harbaugh said following the win over Alabama.” 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.”

With McCarthy now preparing to take the next step as part of the 2024 NFL Draft, we take a look back at some of his top plays as a Wolverine.