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Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy’s former coaches in Chicago’s suburbs couldn’t be prouder

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Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy’s former coaches in Chicago’s suburbs couldn’t be prouder


LA GRANGE PARK, Ill. (CBS) — When the Michigan Wolverines face the Washington Huskies in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday, two suburban athletes will be in the spotlight.

Wide receiver Tyler Morris and quarterback J.J. McCarthy both played at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park. CBS 2’s Jori Parys spoke with their high school coach, and McCarthy’s personal quarterbacks coach – who saw something special in McCarthy well before he was in Ann Arbor.

J.J. McCarthy helped Michigan punch its ticket to a national championship game by beating Alabama in overtime at the Rose Bowl. It was moment that has been many years in the making for the La Grange Park native – who received his first college offer in the 8th grade.

“The coach calls me and I’m like: ‘Coach, what are you doing? What are you doing to this kid. You know how much pressure that is? He hasn’t put a helmet for me yet, and he’s got an offer?’” said Nazareth Academy head football coach Tim Racki. “Even at that young age when that can go to your head as a young kid, he stayed humble modest – never talked about it.”

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McCarthy’s play did plenty of talking.

“His first varsity start, he plants throws across his body 40 yards – and it’s a laser,” said Racki. “The headsets were just silent and one of the coaches you just hear, ‘Well, I think he’s ready.’”

“I take a lot of video. I’ll record a game like you know, Patrick Mahomes, for example is kind of like the go-to – and then show our kids that, and then we try to like put a drill together around that,” adds Greg Holcomb, McCarthy’s longtime personal quarterbacks coach, who owns Next Level Athletix, “and J.J. was the kind of kid who would nail it on the first throw.”

McCarthy made three state championship appearances at Nazareth, winning an IHSA 7A title as a sophomore in 2018. He ended up finishing his high school career in Florida at IMG Academy, transferring in the middle of the pandemic.

“People think why did he got to IMG – for more exposure? No. We weren’t playing football here,” said Racki. He would have stayed here. We had a loaded team going into his senior year. He loved his teammates. He loved Nazareth. But for his – to play at the next level, you can’t sit around not playing football.”

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McCarthy ended up winning a championship his senior year and has since gone 26-1 as a starter at Michigan. Now just one game away from another title.

“He’s just so mature – I mean, you saw like, he does his mental focus and all the things that he does before the game. I mean, he reads books on Navy SEALs and meditation,” said Holcomb. “I think he is the best quarterback to come through Michigan, and I think you know, he’s got a ton of potential in front of him.”

“He’s had the goal to play at the next level – whether it was Division I – which he’s doing now – or the NFL, since he was little,” said Racki. “He had all his goals – again, to speak to his maturity – on this white board, and the NFL shield logo in the middle, so this is something that he’s been working on.”

McCarthy continues to keep in touch with his coaches, who are both proud of the work the quarterback is doing on and off the field.

“He’s so selfless,” said Holcomb. “There’s so many non-football things I could say about him, and so it’s just really special to see him do all that.”

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Coach Racki asked McCarthy to send a video message to his team before their state championship game this year. McCarthy did so, and Racki said you could “hear a pin drop when he played it to them.”

The Roadrunnders went on to win state.



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Michigan Football S Jordan Young enters transfer portal

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Michigan Football S Jordan Young enters transfer portal


Announced on Tuesday evening, Michigan true freshman safety Jordan Young has entered the transfer portal.

A former four-star prospect from Monroe, North Carolina, Young flipped his commitment at the last moment from Clemson to Michigan in the 2025 class. He played in nine games this season for the Wolverines and had 15 tackles and three pass breakups, with all three pass breakups coming in the final four games of the season.

We wish Young the very best at his next college football program.



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Tom Izzo angry at former Michigan State star for courtside ejection

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Tom Izzo angry at former Michigan State star for courtside ejection


EAST LANSING – Michigan State was rolling to a win against USC when there was a stoppage in play with six minutes remaining in the second half on Monday night.

It had nothing to do with what was happening on the court at the Breslin Center.

Referee Jeffrey Anderson blew his whistle to eject a fan sitting a few rows off the floor. The individual booted happened to be Paul Davis, who starred at center for the Spartans from 2002-06.

“He kind of got after the official and he was 150 percent wrong,” Izzo said of Davis after the No. 12 Spartans (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten) won 80-51 against the Trojans on Monday, “and for a guy like me to 150 percent agree with the official, it’s almost illegal.”

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Michigan State fans were upset about a foul call on the other end of the floor when Davis stood up and said something Anderson immediately objected to. That led to a hook.

Despite being tossed, Davis attempted to stay in his seat while taking a drink from an alcoholic beverage container. Anderson didn’t let it slide and provided an explanation to Izzo, who was less than thrilled and yelled across the court questioning what his former player was doing.

Davis finally stood up after being told to leave by associate athletic director Seth Kesler but took his time and brushed two hands against his chest. That prompted Izzo to scream, appearing to tell his former center to “get outta here.” Davis was walked up the stairs and watched the rest of the game from a concourse box.

“I love Paul Davis, I really do, he’s one of my favorite guys … but what he said he should never say anywhere in the world and that ticked me off,” Izzo said. “Just because it’s 25, 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. You know what he’ll say, ‘I screwed up, coach, I’m sorry.’”

Former Los Angeles Clippers center Paul Davis (40).AP

Izzo claimed he was told what Davis said was nothing racial or sexual in nature but it was obviously enough to get the boot.

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“It was just the wrong thing to say,” Izzo said, “and I’ll leave it at that.”

Davis ranks 10th on Michigan State’s career scoring list with 1,718 points, was a second-round NBA pick by the Clippers and spent four years in the league. Izzo praised the work Davis does with current players but the Hall of Fame coach in his 31st season leading the Spartans has never been ejected from a game.

“He made a mistake but he’s been really good with our players too,” Izzo said of Davis. “In the summer he comes up and helps work a guy out or he’s just around. Jud Heathcote used to always tell me sooner or later the game makes fools of us all. Once in a while, the game makes fools of our fans and definitely it’s made a fool of me more than a couple times.”



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Former Michigan star RB promoted to Eastern Michigan assistant head coach

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Former Michigan star RB promoted to Eastern Michigan assistant head coach


Former Michigan running back and assistant coach Mike Hart is getting a promotion on Chris Creighton’s staff at Eastern Michigan.

The school announced Monday that Hart is being elevated to assistant head coach and will oversee the receivers in 2026. Michigan’s all-time leading rusher spent last season as an offensive analyst for the Eagles.

“Coach Hart is a winner,” Creighton said in a news release. “He has the ‘It’ factor. He selflessly helped us this year as an offensive analyst and made a positive impact. We know that he will be a major addition as assistant head coach and wide receivers coach.”

Hart has 14 years of college coaching experience, including a three-year stint as Michigan’s running backs coach from 2021-23. He served as interim head coach for one game during the Wolverines’ 2023 national championship season when Jim Harbaugh was suspended.

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Under Hart, Michigan’s running backs thrived. Blake Corum rushed for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons and was a third-round pick by the Rams in 2024. The Wolverines won the Big Ten all three years Hart was on staff, but they did not renew his contract after the 2023 campaign.

The 39-year-old began his coaching career at EMU in 2011 and also has had stints at Western Michigan (2014-15), Syracuse (2016) and Indiana (2017-2020).

As a player at Michigan, Hart was a two-time Doak Walker Award finalist and finished fifth in the 2006 Heisman Trophy voting. Last season, EMU finished 4-8 but was No. 2 in the Mid-American Conference in passing yards per game.

“I am excited to be a part of Eastern Michigan football,” Hart said in a release. “Coach Creighton is one of the best leaders of men I have ever been around, and I look forward to learning and being a part of his program. EMU football and the Ypsilanti community have always held a special place in my heart, and I am excited to help the team reach our goals for the 2026 season.”



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