JJ McCarthy is embracing the comparison to 2 of football’s top quarterbacks. The Michigan quarterback said he’s trying to be better than the NFL superstars.

“I think some compare him to Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, would be two,” Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh said of McCarthy at Big Ten Media Days last week. “And I know there’s others that have that level of talent plus the quarterback position willing to do anything for their team.”

McCarthy took part in the inaugural Champions Circle Golf Classic, an NIL event put on by Champions Circle collective. Brad Galli of WXYZ asked the U-M quarterback about being compared to the star signal-callers.

“It means so much coming from him,” McCarthy told Galli. “I just value his opinion so much. It just reaffirms to be that what I am doing is the right thing. Just continuing to do that. But at the end of the day, I just got to continue focusing on myself, keep improving myself. I emulate those boys, I observe them all the time but I am trying to surpass them.”

McCarthy had a stellar 2022 season, leading U-M to another College Football Playoff appearance. There are high expectations for the returning starter in 2023. U-M opens the season on Sept. 2.