Stay or go? UM quarterback McCarthy promises answer on Sunday

Ann Arbor – Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, in the moments following the football team’s national championship celebration at Crisler Center, revealed he will make public his decision about his playing future on Sunday.

McCarthy, 27-1 as a two-year starter for the Wolverines, is weighing returning for a final season or heading to the NFL Draft, where he is projected by some draft experts to be a first-round pick. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, late last month before the Rose Bowl, said McCarthy is “NFL-ready.”

The deadline to declare for the NFL Draft is Monday.

“Tomorrow,” McCarthy said when asked Saturday night by The Detroit News when he will announce his decision. “I’ll release it (in the morning).”

The team was feted by a sold-out crowd at Crisler Center, two hours after the players, coaches and staff participated in a one-mile parade in frigid temperatures from the president’s house to Schembechler Hall, and when McCarthy was introduced, the fans chanted, “One more year!”

“I know lots of us got some big-time life decision to make … Michigan will forever be in my heart,” McCarthy told the crowd. “I love you all. Go Blue.”

That likely wasn’t the response Michigan fans had hoped to hear at the celebration. Earlier in the celebration, however, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel did assure fans, as he has done repeatedly since Monday when Michigan won the national championship, defeating Washington at NRG Stadium in Houston, that he is working to retain Harbaugh.

Harbaugh is considering a contract extension from Michigan that would make him the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten, but he also reportedly is considering NFL possibilities. Several national reports have linked him to the Chargers and Raiders. Harbaugh flew to Minnesota in 2022 to interview for the head coaching job and in 2023 was in talks with Denver.

Manuel told the crowd he wanted to answer the question he received “500 times” during Saturday afternoon’s parade.

“I am working on getting this man (Harbaugh) a new contract, I promise you,” Manuel said, eliciting an enormous roar of applause.

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The Wolverines finished the season 15-0, one of four programs to accomplish that record in college football history. The defeated Alabama in the Rose Bowl national semifinal and then Washington in the national title game.

“We went from the bottom of 2020 to national champs,” right guard Zak Zinter said, referencing Michigan’s 2-4 season in 2020.

This season was full of distractions. An NCAA investigation into impermissible recruiting in 2021 led Michigan to impose a three-game suspension of Harbaugh for the first three games of the season. The investigation is not yet completely resolved and is expected to go to a Committee on Infractions hearing in the spring with Harbaugh facing a Level I violation for misleading investigators. In mid-October, the NCAA began investigation of an alleged illegal scouting/sign-stealing scheme. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, citing the league’s Sportsmanship Policy, suspended Harbaugh the final three regular-season games.

Earlier this week, NCAA president Charlie Baker told reporters that Michigan’s national championship was earned "fair and square.”

“Some teams tried to use nefarious ways to get at us,” Manuel said at the celebration. “Didn’t pay off. We didn’t take the bait.”

The players maintained what they called a “one-track” mind throughout the season and were never rattled by accusations or the headlines they saw on social media and on television and in newspapers.

“When they doubted, when they disrespected, when they called us cheaters, we stayed focused,” two-time captain Mike Sainristil said Saturday night.

This event, that benefited the Champions Circle for NIL, started a couple hours after thousands of people lined the parade route, braving the cold and wind to celebrate their team.

“Today was just amazing,” defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale said after the parade. “Kinda really for the first time for me set in that we won the national championship. Having your family with you, the first thing you feel, everything you sacrificed and all the hard work and the players and the families and the coaches and the staff have put in, that it was all well worth it. It’s the first time in my career felt like what we set out on and off the field was accomplished.”

McCarthy soaked in the day of celebration.

"It meant everything,” McCarthy said. “Just to be able to celebrate this as a university is amazing."

McGregor to NFL

Michigan edge rusher Braiden McGregor announced Saturday night on social media he is heading to the NFL Draft.

McGregor had nine tackles for loss, including 4.5 sacks, three pass breakups and a forced fumble during the 2023 season. Edge rusher Jaylen Harrell also declared for the NFL Draft this week.

“I am proud to say I am leaving with a degree, three Big 10 championships, a Rose Bowl win, never losing to OSU and a National Championship from the greatest university on earth,” McGregor said.

angelique.chengelis@detroitnews.com

@chengelis