JJ McCarthy is 2-0 against Ohio State so he knows what it takes to win against Michigan’s most hated rival. Unfortunately, people on the outside and Michigan haters think that wins over OSU in 2021 and 2022 only happened because of Michigan’s sign stealing scheme. McCarthy, obviously doesn’t see it that way.
“Nobody sees the work we put in,” McCarthy said. “I really do believe we’ve worked the hardest in the entire country — each and every player, each and every coach. And now it’s so easy to look at headlines, so easy to follow a narrative. But when you’re in here, and you see what’s going on, you wouldn’t think for a second that it’s anything other than hard work, dedication and execution.”
Even though there is a lot of outside noise from non-Michigan folks, McCarthy finds peace in how former Michigan players and alumni have been supporting him and his teammates. They haven’t ncessarily started blowing up his phone yet, but he knows guys like Tom Brady, Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson are out there sending positive energy his way.
“They know exactly what our mindset is,” McCarthy said of the former greats. “They know what this game means to us, just like it was the same way for them. They just know that this is a team that’s focused on getting better every single day and doing all the right things. So the texts might come the night before the game, where it’s just a little pump up or something like that, to get our minds right, but they know exactly what we’re about. And they trust us, that’s for sure.”
Even with support from some of the most recognizable football players in the history of the sport, the Wolverines have adopted a “Michigan vs. Everybody” mentality, and McCarthy explained why.
“It really does feel like that. It really does,” he said. “I feel like it’s a blessing in disguise because it’s brought us closer as a unit, brought us closer as an organization and as an entire Michigan family. Just all the Michigan faithful reaching out and showing their support, it just means everything to us and we are so greatly appreciative of it. It means a lot that we have all the Michigan alumni having our back and it just gives us more motivation to get out here every single day and do our best for those guys. But most importantly, for ourselves.”
Just before McCarthy left the podium he tried his best to explain how he’s felt throughout the last month or so. With new information coming out on a daily basis, a staffer and a coach being fired, Jim Harbaugh being suspended and a widely-accepted narrative following the team around, McCarthy took a second to gather his thoughts before telling everyone what its been like for the starting QB.
“Knowing how much blood, sweat and tears we put into this season, and all the hours that we put in, just being diluted by a scandal and all that it’s, it’s unfortunate,” McCarthy said. “But it’s out of our control and we only focus on what we can control and try to get better every single day and not worry about that stuff. But it is unfortunate that people don’t think we put in the work to get to where we are.”