Posts by: Thunder

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

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

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.

2026 Recruiting Update: April 23, 2024

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2026

Mount Zion (IL) Mount Zion tight end J.C. Anderson was offered by Michigan following a weekend visit to Ann Arbor. He’s a 6’7″, 230 lb. prospect with offers from Arkansas, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others.

Woodberry Forest (VA) Woodberry Forest wide receiver Dyzier Carter was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 180-pounder with offers from Indiana, Maryland, Miami, and Tennessee, among others; I mention Indiana in that group mainly because his brother Dequece, also a wide receiver, transferred to Indiana. Dyzier is a 4-star, the #10 wide receiver, and #63 overall.

Knoxville (TN) Catholic wide receiver Tyreek King was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’10”, 165 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville, and Tennessee, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #31 wide receiver, and #206 overall to Rivals.

Boca Raton (FL) West running back Javian Mallory was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 200-pounder with offers from Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #7 running back, and #109 overall according to Rivals. As a sophomore in 2023, he had 131 carries for 1,415 yards and 18 touchdowns, plus 22 catches for 438 yards and 6 scores.

Dunlap (IL) Dunlap tight end Mack Sutter was offered by Michigan. Sutter is a 6’5″, 215 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Iowa, Ole Miss, and Penn State, among others.

MISCELLANEY

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

Nathaniel Marshall, Wolverine

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

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