Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy goes to Vikings at No. 10 in NFL draft

McCarthy said at the NFL combine that during interviews with teams, they focused on the second half of the Penn State game last fall when Michigan ran 32 straight times. The only pass attempt was negated by a penalty.

“That was a big one that came up,” McCarthy said at the combine. “It was kind of the ability, especially that example, to let them know, hey, my teammates, the receivers specifically, were not very excited when Coach (Sherrone) Moore was saying, ‘Hey, it's gonna be one of those games.’ But just letting (NFL teams) know, the process of the approach I took during that time of just saying, ‘Hey, guys, this is a huge part in our quest to become national champions.’ And not necessarily saying that I was only selfless one, but telling the teams, that my teammates were very selfless in that situation. Just explaining situations like that, and just ultimately letting them know the first thing of three things about me is I’m the ultimate team guy, want to win games, and I love this game more than anything.”

That was evident to Klatt, who has called 18 Michigan games the last three years.

“J.J. is a winner,” Klatt said. “What I appreciated most about covering him over the last three years — and I got to see every iteration, true freshman getting spot time all the way to being the starter last year on the national championship team — I love his selflessness but also his maturation as a quarterback. I don’t think that gets talked about enough.

“When he was young, he was living on athleticism, confidence and raw talent. He was going out there and he could be effective. What you saw was a guy who had to learn the schematics of the game and also how to operate within those schematics to the point where last year, I thought his best trait was his ability to move the chains on third down. He was uniquely aware of the protection, he knew how to read all of his concepts and then he could use his legs as a threat. That’s what somebody’s going to get is somebody who understands how to operate and is incredibly talented.”

Harbaugh, during the NFL owner meetings in Orlando, Fla., last month, praised McCarthy's ability.

“He’s the one who plays quarterback of all the quarterbacks in the draft,” Harbaugh told reporters. “There are great quarterbacks in the draft, but I think he plays quarterback the best of any quarterback in the draft.”

Now, McCarthy has a chance to prove that.