Ohio State puts up J.J. McCarthy quote at team facility

It doesn’t take much for Ohio State to try and make something out of nothing, turning a factual statement into bulletin board material. And that’s precisely what they’ve done with a recent quote from Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

The McCarthy quote, which is now posted at Ohio State Football’s Woody Hayes Athletic Center, comes from a recent interview the Michigan QB had with Sports Illustrated.

“For me, that rivalry is very personal — and I won’t dive too deep into that”, McCarthy said. “That was just one of those games where you definitely want to win it a lot more than the other ones. Of course, you want to win every game the way that you want to win every game - but that one was super, super nice to win.

“For us, the whole 10-year stretch of us not winning - that’s all we know is beating Ohio State right now...so we’re going to keep that going.”

McCarthy’s statement, while it may be now used as some motivational tactic by the Buckeyes, is 100% true as it pertains to him and some other rising Michigan stars. McCarthy was a true freshman in 2021, all he’s ever known is beating Ohio State. Further, Michigan and Ohio State didn’t face off in 2020 due to coronavirus issues for the Wolverines. In short, that marks two recruiting classes that only know what beating Ohio State feels like.

Team’s use quotes any chance they can get to put a chip on their shoulder, but it’s still Ryan Day who said the Buckeyes would drop 100 on Michigan, it was defensive tackle Tyleik Williams who posted a video stomping on a McCarthy jersey before the Buckeyes ultimately fell to the Wolverines 42-27. Michigan still has a chip on their shoulder, too.

All in all, a pretty mild quote from McCarthy that’s now being used as motivation for a team that isn’t used to an off-season where all they’re thinking about is how they lost to Michigan.