Perfect move for JJ McCarthy

JJ McCarthy can’t help but shake his head and think about what might have been if Illinois had a prep football season this fall.

“Man, we were going to be good,” McCarthy said of Nazareth, which would have returned multiple Division I prospects on both sides of the ball from a team that lost to Mount Carmel in the Class 7A final in 2019.

But life works out in strange ways. Instead of playing with all that talent in Illinois, the five-star quarterback moved to Florida to play with even more at IMG Academy in Bradenton — and won a national championship.

McCarthy led IMG to an 8-0 record and the No. 1 spot in USA Today’s national rankings. He added to one of the greatest resumes of any player with Illinois roots, finishing 36-2 as a starter with 7,905 passing yards, 94 touchdowns and 13 interceptions (none as a senior).

“I want to say it came out way better than expected,” he said.

Besides getting to play a final prep season before heading off to college as a Michigan recruit, McCarthy had the opportunity to play alongside and practice against other top prospects, all while navigating the worst public health crisis in a century.

“It was a four-month mental challenge,” McCarthy said. “I feel just much more prepared (for college). I really gained a huge perspective on football and life. It just helped me in the developmental process of everything I was going through.

“I learned how to enjoy being alone, the hours of being inside of our room.”

He watched former teammates and friends being sidelined by the pandemic with no guarantee of a season.

“It’s terrible, it’s awful,” McCarthy said. “Gosh, you feel for everyone here and everyone that didn’t get a chance to play their senior year.”

That made him appreciate his opportunity to play all the more.

“I’m so blessed to be one of the players who played one game, let alone eight. I realized the present moment is all you ever have,” McCarthy said. “That’s all we can control.”

One thing he can’t control is Michigan fans’ reaction to what has been a tough season. The Wolverines are 2-4 and were forced to cancel Saturday’s game against Maryland because of COVID issues.

The day after Michigan lost 49-11 to Wisconsin, McCarthy tweeted:

“I want all Michigan fans to do this. Take 3 deep breaths... And have faith. Faith that every single Coach, player, employee in that building is doing everything they possibly can to be great.”

As of Wednesday night, the message had been liked more than 7,100 times and retweeted more than 400 times.

McCarthy just wanted to show support for coach Jim Harbaugh and the rest of the Wolverines.

“I was feeling for him big time,” McCarthy said. “I know how much work they put in, the amount of work the players put in, and seeing the hate that was coming from our own fan base.

“I didn’t expect it to blow up like it did. I was trying to put some perspective (out).”

So he did, in a year when perspective was sometimes hard to come by.

Here’s a look at how the fall went for some other local players:

— McCarthy wasn’t the only former Nazareth player to find success out of state.

Senior receiver Isaiah Emanuel helped Southeast Polk to a Class 4A runner-up finish in Iowa. He ranked third in 4A with 703 receiving yards and was named 4A second team all-state by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association.

— Another of McCarthy’s former targets, Syracuse commit Landon Morris, had 39 catches for 588 yards and six touchdowns in nine games for Fishers (Ind.).

— Junior running back Lavarion Logan, who was at Joliet Catholic in 2019 after spending his freshman year at Merrillville (Ind.), returned to Merrillville and had a breakout season. He ran 254 times for 1,492 yards and 23 TDs to help the Pirates reach the final four in 6A, the state’s largest class.

— Senior Domenic Virelli (Nazareth), who played at Dowling Catholic, was named one of the top 20 offensive linemen in Iowa by IowaPreps.com.

— Three Kenwood teammates who transferred to Groves in Birmingham, Michigan — senior quarterback Kaleb Garner, senior defensive back Myles Mooyoung and junior defensive back Diego Oliver — were declared ineligible by the Michigan High School Athletic Association on Nov. 10, according to the Oakland (Mich.) Press. Mooyoung had 47 tackles, six interceptions and four tackles for loss for Groves, which was forced to forfeit its district championship game. Garner won the starting quarterback job and threw two TD passes in Groves’ final game, a 30-21 win over Seaholm.

— Two local players were ruled ineligible in Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register: offensive lineman Sean O’Hara (Nazareth) at Southeast Polk and defensive end Mark Gorbatenko (Barrington) at Clear Creek Amana. Gorbatenko had seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in four games before being sidelined.