Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy is having one of the best seasons of any player in the country and is among the contenders for the 2023 Heisman Trophy. But it sounds like the NCAA investigation into Michigan’s alleged illegal sign-stealing operation could cost McCarthy a chance at college football’s top award.
On Tuesday, Heisman Trophy voter Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star wrote a column in which he revealed that he will not be including J.J. McCarthy on his Heisman Trophy ballot this year as a result of the sign-stealing allegations.
“The most important thing about playing quarterback happens before the snap, when he tries to decipher what the opposing defense will do. Why do so many high school quarterbacks with huge physical ability and statistics fail in college? Same reason that some of the best college QB’s fail in the NFL: Because the more confusing it gets, standing there at the line of scrimmage studying the defense, the harder it is to play the position,” Doyel wrote for the Indianapolis Star.
“McCarthy’s coaches knew what the defense was doing, which allowed them to call the perfect play. J.J. McCarthy had to execute it, yes, but the heaviest lifting had already been done by Connor Stalions.”
It’s pretty horrible news for McCarthy that he will miss out on Heisman Trophy votes as a result of this scandal, and the college football world had a lot to say about it on social media.
So far, neither the Big Ten nor the NCAA have announced a formal punishment against the Wolverines.
About Kevin Harrish