Matt Weiss talks J.J. McCarthy’s status, what Cade McNamara does at an ‘elite college level’

Michigan quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss is in a good situation — he’s coaching an offense with a lot of weapons at running back, wide receiver, tight end, with solid options at quarterback.

When it comes to the quarterbacks, J.J. McCarthy is currently rehabbing from lingering shoulder soreness, his throwing reps are being limited in practice. However, the positive news is McCarthy is in fact throwing and taking part in practices, something Weiss shared with the media on Wednesday.

Weiss said that discretion is the better part of valor with McCarthy, that they want to make sure they don’t turn a small problem into a big one.

“He’s out there everyday dressed, he’s in team drills, he’s in full team drills at times. He’s practicing, just limiting how much he throws,” Weiss said. “He can throw, we’re just limiting how much he does that.”

As far as a timeline for when McCarthy will be 100%, that remains uncertain.

“As soon as we can get him back, whenever that is — if it’s fall camp, that’d be great, if it’s the end of spring even better,” Weiss said.

With McCarthy taking less throwing reps, Cade McNamara is looking to bolster his case that he should remain the starter after a season in which Michigan won the Big Ten Championship and made the College Football Playoff.

Weiss said that McNamara has been improving.

“His ability to move and make plays improved a ton last year,” Weiss said. “He’s very intelligent, his ability to read coverage was always good but I’d really say that his reaction to blitz, knowing where to go when he’s hot, reading defense is really at an elite level for a college quarterback. That was an area that he was always good, and now he’s elite.”

This marks Weiss first season as co-offensive coordinator at Michigan, and part of why he’s being trusted with Michigan’s quarterbacks, why he’s ascended to Co-OC is how his football philosophies mesh well with head coach Jim Harbaugh.

“Jim is aggressive by nature. That is how he was as a player and how he is as a coach,” Weiss said. “That’s one reason guys are drawn to him and players love him. We see a lot of things the same and he’s really smart and logical. He has great ideas and is really easy to work with. He’s been awesome.”

Expect more aggressiveness from Michigan’s offense, and quarterbacks in 2022.