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CHICAGO — Facing third-and-10 at the Ohio State 22-yard line in the second quarter Saturday, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy had wide receiver Cornelius Johnson split wide to the right as his primary read.
Ohio State had a safety over the top of the left side, and McCarthy liked the matchup for Johnson, who was running a go route and hoped to shake Davison Igbinosun with a stutter step, maybe convincing the cornerback he was breaking off his route near the line to gain.
The Wolverines were thinking touchdown — not first down.
Igbinosun didn’t take the bait and Johnson was covered. McCarthy didn’t have a lot of time to react. Buckeyes defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. collapsed the pocket with a bull rush. From McCarthy’s blind side, defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau beat left tackle LaDarius Henderson with a spin move. The escape hatch was closing.
McCarthy kept his eyes on Johnson, hoping to hold safety Malik Hartford to the right side as wide receiver Roman Wilson crossed from the left with cornerback Denzel Burke in close coverage. Just before Tuimoloau hit him, McCarthy zipped a pass across the middle — his release is compact and fast — somehow threading the ball between Burke and Hartford and into Wilson’s hands.
Wilson caught the ball at the 5-yard line and squirted into the end zone, putting the Wolverines ahead 14-3 in a game they won 30-24 to improve to 12-0 as delirious fans stormed the field at Michigan Stadium afterward.
It was the kind of big-time throw — McCarthy didn’t stride into it with Tuimoloau bearing down on him — that’s a wow moment for NFL evaluators considering McCarthy at or near the top of a talented crop of quarterbacks for the 2024 draft.
That’s if the junior from LaGrange Park, Ill., decides to enter the draft after Michigan’s season ends. The Wolverines play Iowa in the…
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Author : Chicago Tribune
Publish date : 2023-12-02 01:50:00
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