Nazareth Academy football fans cheer at The Stadium Club after the Vikings drafted former Roadrunners quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 10th pick in the NFL Draft.
By Steve Metsch
Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League.
Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook to watch the NFL Draft.
They saw McCarthy drafted 10th in the first round by the Vikings. He is the first Nazareth football player to be drafted in the first round.
A huge roar went up when his name was announced on ESPN. People cheered, clapped, high-fived and hugged
Moran, a former head football coach and athletic director at Nazareth, said it takes more than a strong arm, accurate touch and fast feet to be a great quarterback.
It takes smarts and McCarthy has plenty, Moran said.
“Physically, he has the tools. Not only is he a great athlete, he’s a great student. He prepares mentally for each game. He breaks down (game) films. He does the additional stuff to put himself at another level,” Moran said.
“A lot of guys don’t do that, even some guys already in the league … People forget he’s an honor student. He brings that to the field,” said Moran, who is now director of maintenance at the La Grange Park high school.
McCarthy led Nazareth to a Class 7A state championship in 2018 and second place Class 7A in 2019.
He quarterbacked the national champion Michigan Wolverines earlier this year. He was 27-1 at starting quarterback for Michigan.
Casey Moran, Dennis’ son, was impressed by that but not too surprised. Casey is the offensive coordinator of the Nazareth football team which last November won a second-straight state title. He worked closely with McCarthy in 2018 and 2019.
“Going into his sophomore year of high school, I knew then that he was a special talent unlike anything I had seen at that position,” Casey Moran said.
“The ball just comes off his hand different. It spins different. The things he can do on the move and still fit the ball in tight windows was amazing. We knew he was special,” he added.
Nazareth Principal Therese Hawkins knows that.
“What makes him a special person is he so grounded, so humble, kindhearted. A great young man. He has his feet planted solid on the ground,” Hawkins said “It’s a very exciting night for Naz, that’s for sure.”
Hawkins fondly recalled when soon after winning the national championship with Michigan, McCarthy paid a visit to Nazareth Head Football Coach Tim Racki.
“He told Tim he wanted to come down to my office to say hi to me. He came down. I gave him a big hug. It was so sweet of him,” Hawkins said.
Racki was in Detroit with McCarthy for the draft, she said.
In a prepared statement, Racki said: “J.J.’s positive influence and legacy will forever be embedded within the Nazareth football program.”
Former Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban, winner of seven national championships, praised McCarthy on ESPN.
“A lot of people think J.J. is system dependent because of the way they played at Michigan where he wasn’t the featured point of the offense.
“But the one thing I did was (compile) third-down statistics on the top seven quarterbacks in the draft. He was No. 1 (in completions) on third down when the game was in his hands at 48 percent,” Saban said.
Dave Walker, who keeps stats at Nazareth games, called Minnesota “the perfect situation.”
“He’s going to develop very well there. The pressure’s not really on him. This is really great,” Walker said.
Sitting at the bar, Mike Berscheid, of Lyons, was among the many fans at The Stadium Club who came to see whom the Bears drafted.
Asked about McCarthy, he said: “It’s exciting. A lot of potential. A chance to lead a team to better heights.”
Lyons Village Trustee Ivaca Lazich, a Nazareth alum, thinks the future is bright.
“He won at Nazareth, won in Florida, won at Michigan. He’s a winner,” Lazich said.
McCarthy opted to play quarterback for IMG Academy in Florida during the 2020 season, his senior year, because there were doubts about high school football being played that fall in Illinois.
Lazich has mixed emotions about McCarthy joining the Vikings, who are in the Bears’ division and play them twice each season: “It’s okay, but I’ve gotta say, Bear down.”
Before the draft, Steve Palmer, owner of The Stadium Club, said he has “never seen this kind of excitement for the draft. J.J. is once again working his magic for our community. … We’re thrilled to be part of this.”