Michigan J.J. McCarthy Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

JJ McCarthy is ready to lead Michigan in the 2023 season. The star Wolverines quarterback boldly sent a message to the NCAA just as he got off the bus Saturday morning.

A photographer, Isaiah Hole, snapped a photo of the Michigan quarterback while he wore a T-shirt that read, “FREE HARBAUGH,” obviously in reference to his head coach Jim Harbaugh. While the Wolverines begin the season on Saturday, Harbaugh won’t be on the sidelines. Instead, he will begin to serve a self-imposed three-game suspension.

It’s clear what McCarthy thinks of the suspensions. Harbaugh received reprimands from the NCAA after a recruiting violation over improper contact with a recruit. The suspension appeared to be in the air, but the school eventually decided to impose a three-game suspension.

Harbaugh will miss games vs. ECU, UNLV, and Bowling Green. He will make his 2023 coaching debut in Michigan’s Big Ten opener against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Wolverines have won the Big Ten in the last two seasons and hope to achieve a three-peat this season. They are the current kings of the castle, and until someone takes them off the hill, they should be expected to lead the charge again. Experts do like Ohio State, but many of them have favored the Wolverines, a massive switch to a previously longstanding trend. JJ McCarthy is a big reason why, but he made headlines off the field in a big way Saturday ahead of the opener.

[Isaiah Hole]

About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022