J.J. McCarthy, who spent the last three seasons starting at quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines, has been the subject of plenty of positive talk lately.

While he may not break into the top-three list of QB prospects in this year’s NFL Draft, he is an increasingly hot prospect, and his draft position could end up being higher than originally thought.

Jim Harbaugh, his coach at Michigan who will now be leading the Los Angeles Chargers, has said some very complimentary things about him, and former NFL player Bucky Brooks compared him to Alex Smith, per NFL on FOX.

@BuckyBrooks compares J.J. McCarthy to himself and Alex Smith

: https://t.co/wG42iYu34u pic.twitter.com/18gg1KJoDH

— NFL on FOX Podcast (@NFLonFOXPod) March 26, 2024

Smith was an NFL signal-caller from 2005 to 2020, and he was the No. 1 pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2005 out of the University of Utah.

In his last season at Utah, he led the Utes to a win in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl while being coached by Urban Meyer.

In San Francisco, Smith had a rough start to his career as he dealt with injuries, inconsistent play and lots of losing, but when Harbaugh became their head coach for the 2011 season, Smith’s fortunes changed.

He led the Niners to the NFC Championship Game that year, although a concussion the following regular season caused him to lose his starting spot to Colin Kaepernick.

Smith then spent the next five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he made three Pro Bowls, before wrapping up his career with the then-Washington Redskins.

There is now some chatter that Washington, who has the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, may actually take McCarthy, which would certainly make things interesting in more ways than one.

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