MCCARTHY
Jonathan

• 1. College career
• 1.1. 2022 season
• 1.2. 2023 season

Jonathan James McCarthy is an American football quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines. He became Michigan's starting quarterback in the second week of the 2022 season and has started every game since.

College career

Rated as one of the top quarterback recruits, McCarthy had offers from 33 schools including LSU, Michigan State, Ohio State, Texas, and Wisconsin. McCarthy committed to Michigan in May 2019.

2021 season
On September 4, 2021, he made his Michigan debut against Western Michigan and completed four of six passes for 80 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown pass to Daylen Baldwin. He appeared in 11 games during the 2021 season primarily as the backup quarterback, completing 34 of 59 passes for 516 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions.

2022 season

Prior to the 2022 season, McCarthy competed with Cade McNamara for the role as Michigan's starting quarterback. Before the opening game, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh announced that the competition was close and would continue at least for the first two games, with McNamara starting in the first week against Colorado State and McCarthy starting in the second week against Hawaii.

McCarthy started and played most of the first half against Hawaii, completing 11 of 12 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns while leading the Wolverines to a 42–0 halftime lead. In his postgame press conference, Harbaugh announced that McCarthy would start against UConn in week 3 and added, "He's the starter moving forward on merit."

McCarthy continued as Michigan's starting quarterback, completing 15 of 18 passes against UConn for 214 yards, 18 of 26 passes against Maryland for 220 yards, and 18 of 24 passes against Iowa for 155 yards. Against Indiana on October 8, he completed 28 of 36 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception (on a ball tipped up into the air in the end zone). McCarthy helped lead the Wolverines into an undefeated matchup with Ohio State on November 26. He passed for 263 yards and three passing touchdowns and recorded a rushing touchdown in the 45–23 victory. In the Fiesta Bowl, he completed 20 of 34 passes for a career-high 343 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, both returned for touchdowns, in the 51–45 loss to TCU in the College Football Playoff Semifinals. For the 2022 season, he completed 208 of 322 passes for 2,719 yards, 22 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a 155.0 quarterback rating.

2023 season

On September 2, 2023, against East Carolina, McCarthy recorded his best career passing game at home (280 yards, three touchdowns). McCarthy's 86.7% completion percentage (26-for-30) ranked second-highest in program history, behind Elvis Grbac's 90.9% (20-for-22) against Notre Dame on September 14, 1991.

On October 7, against Nebraska, he completed 12 of 16 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. With two passing touchdowns in the game, he tied Todd Collins for ninth-most in program history with 37 career touchdowns. On November 4, against Purdue, he completed 24 of 37 passes for 335 yards. With 335 passing yards in the game, he passed Tom Brady for ninth on the program's all-time passing list.

On November 25, against Ohio State, he completed 16 of 20 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. With 148 passing yards in the game, he passed Shea Patterson for seventh on the program's all-time passing list. On January 1, 2024, against Alabama in the Rose Bowl, he completed 17 of 27 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns in a 27—20 overtime win, and was named offensive most valuable player for the game.