J.J. McCarthy taken in 1st Round of 2024 NFL Draft

 

J.J. McCarthy

The Minnesota Vikings traded up one spot in the 2024 NFL Draft to select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He was taken #10 overall after the Vikings swapped picks with the New York Jets, who moved down to #11 and took Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.

McCarthy is the highest drafted quarterback to ever come out of Michigan, topping his head coach in college, Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh was taken #26 overall in the 1987 draft by the Chicago Bears. McCarthy is also the first Michigan quarterback to be selected since Jake Rudock (6th round, #191 overall by the Detroit Lions) in 2016.

McCarthy went 27-1 as a starter at Michigan over 2022 and 2023, with the lone loss coming to TCU in the 2023 College Football Playoff. He threw for 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions from 2021-2023. He set Michigan records for completion percentage in a season (72.3% in 2023) and in a career (67.6%) and won a national championship in 2023.

Of the quarterback-needy teams in the 2024 draft, I felt like Minnesota was the best fit for McCarthy. McCarthy's main competition to start will be journeyman Sam Darnold, but they have a good cast of weapons that includes standout wide receivers (Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison), an upper-echelon tight end (T.J. Hockenson), and a productive running back (Aaron Jones). I would like to see the Vikings beef up their running game with a complementary running back and/or some offensive line help, but they may address those issues in the draft or in subsequent years. 

2024 Mock NFL Draft

 

Two of these guys will be involved in the first round, and hopefully a third will get drafted on day two.

It's that time of the year for another mock NFL Draft. Here are my guesses for how the draft shakes out. If I guess wrong, oh well. And if I guess right? I'm a genius. That's just how it works.

1. Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams - QB - USC
Why? He seems to be the consensus choice here. This one seems obvious.

2. Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels - QB - LSU
Why? A few months ago, I never would have believed that Daniels would hop ahead of Maye to be QB#2, but again, it seems to be the case.

3. New England Patriots: Drake Maye - QB - North Carolina
Why? Some people are running the angle of taking J.J. McCarthy as "another Michigan Man" to fill the shoes of Tom Brady, but when I've tried to make those connections in the past, it just rarely seems to work out that way. Maye is a bigger prospect, too, and I think some are concerned about McCarthy's sturdiness.

Hit the jump for more.

Nathaniel Marshall, Wolverine

 

Oak Park (MI) Fenwick defensive tackle Nate Marshall

Oak Park (MI) Fenwick defensive lineman Nathaniel Marshall committed to Michigan on Monday morning. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State, and USC, among others.

Marshall is listed at 6'4" and 265 lbs.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 83 grade, #4 DT, #78 overall
On3: 4-star, 93 grade, #6 DL, #71 overall
Rivals: 4-star, #1 SDE, #21 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, #11 DL, #73 overall

Hit the jump for more.

2024 Season Countdown: #120 Anthony Arnou

 

Anthony Arnou (image via Twitter)

Name: Anthony Arnou
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 226 lbs.
High school: Santa Monica (CA) Santa Monica
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #15
Last year: Arnou was at Pasadena City College and completed 58/98 passes for 620 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He also ran 20 times for 101 yards and 2 touchdown.
TTB Rating: N/A

Arnou is in his first year at Michigan after transferring in as a walk-on. The fall of 2024 will be his third season of college football after walking on at Fresno State in 2021, where he redshirted behind Jake Haener . . . and played for Kalen DeBoer, who went on to be Washington's head coach in 2022-2023 and whom Michigan beat for the national championship back in January.

Arnou then went on to play for Pasadena City College in 2022, where he played a fair amount. Watching his highlights from that season, he looks like a fine lower level college prospect. He looks like a Division II potential starter to me. But he's a little heavy-footed even at that level, and his arm strength and throwing mechanics leave something to be desired.

It's nice to have a player like Arnou on the roster for the scout team, but Michigan already has depth - not proven depth, but depth - at the quarterback position. There are about three guys vying for the starting quarterback job, and another couple with higher upside, including freshman Jadyn Davis. Other than the outstanding education, the awesome city that is Ann Arbor, and a chance to have some team success, I'm not really sure why a player like Arnou would transfer to Michigan if he's looking for playing time.

Prediction: Backup quarterback

Spring Game 2024: 5 Things to Watch

 

Alex Orji

Here are five things I'll be watching in the 2024 spring game:

1. How does Alex Orji throw the ball? Third-year quarterback Alex Orji seems to be the most likely [currently rostered and healthy] guy to start behind center this fall. At 6'3" and 236 lbs., we know he can run. We saw him do it at various times during the championship run in 2023. What we didn't see at all in 2023 is Orji passing the ball. Footwork, accuracy, and touch are all in question. I don't expect to see him run the ball a whole lot, because running a QB when they can't be tackled is kind of unfair and boring. If/when he has time to throw, how does he look? Can he feather the ball or does he just throw it on a line? Does he get his feet lined up properly to throw, or are they all over the place? What we see might indicate whether Michigan needs to dip into the portal for a potential starter in the fall.

2. Who's the "other" corner? We know Will Johnson has one cornerback spot locked down for this fall. If a currently rostered player wins the job across from him, it will likely be either Jyaire Hill or D.J. Waller. Waller got more playing time in the fall, but when Hill enrolled early last spring and was flying around, I thought he looked like a potential future star. Michigan still might look to the transfer portal to help out at a fairly thin position, but it would still be nice to see progress from Hill and Waller.

Hit the jump for more.

2024 Season Countdown: #121 Jack MacKinnon

 

Jack MacKinnon

Name: Jack MacKinnon
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 244 lbs.
High school: Sarasota (FL) Cardinal Moooney
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #39
Last year: I did not rank MacKinnon. He redshirted.
TTB Rating: N/A

MacKinnon was a preferred walk-on in the class of 2023. A high school defensive end (he had 58 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks as a senior in 2022), he was originally committed to play baseball at USF. But according to this article (LINK), Jack Harbaugh saw him play football and recommended him to the Michigan coaching staff as a PWO.

I like MacKinnon's high school film, but he's now listed as a linebacker. Can he be a true linebacker at 6'4" and 244 pounds? Or would he potentially be better off trying to grow into a stand-up edge player like Jaylen Harrell? Either way, he's unlikely to play this early in his career at Michigan. I could potentially see him playing in Ann Arbor down the road, but he also seems like a prime candidate to transfer at some point for a clearer path to playing time. Regardless, he's on Michigan's roster for now and should be a solid scout team player for the time being.

Prediction: Backup linebacker

2025 Recruiting Update: April 16, 2024

 

Howell (MI) Howell DT Bobby Kanka

OFF THE BOARD

Dallas (TX) Skyline linebacker Elijah Barnes (4-star, #13 LB, #98 overall) committed to Texas.

Denton (TX) Ryan offensive tackle Marcus Garcia (4-star, #29 OT, #308 overall) committed to Texas A&M. Garcia visited Michigan earlier this spring.

Rome (GA) Rome linebacker Jaedon Harmon (4-star, #23 LB, #177 overall) committed to Alabama.

Rabun Gap (GA) Nacoochee offensive guard Justin Hasenhuetl (4-star, #10 IOL, #196 overall) committed to Georgia Tech. He's a teammate of 2025 tight end Marshall Pritchett, who recently picked North Carolina over Michigan, and both attend the alma mater of Michigan tight end Marlin Klein.

Corona (CA) Centennial quarterback Husan Longstreet (4-star, #5 QB, #44 overall) committed to Texas A&M.

Washington (OK) Washington tight end Nate Roberts (4-star, #5 TE, #118 overall) committed to Ohio State.

Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright (4-star, #43 WR, #318 overall) committed to Washington.

MISCELLANEY

Here's a list of visitors from this past weekend (LINK).

Howell (MI) Howell defensive tackle Bobby Kanka (4-star, #41 DL, #361 overall), a Michigan commit, has set two other official visits to Michigan State and Tennessee. He remains committed to Michigan but is exploring his options.