Say what you will about the Michigan offense and the downfield passing game but Michigan can't be happier with the way J.J. McCarthy is performing, and growing, as a starting quarterback this season.

Quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss, in particular, is fond of how McCarthy continues to make strides in his game each week.

When asked how McCarthy is ahead of schedule in his development, Weiss didn't hesitate to gush about his starting quarterback.

"We’re just absolutely thrilled with the way that he’s playing," Weiss said. "He understands every single progression, he makes the right footwork, he knows where to go with the ball, with very, very few exceptions and that’s really hard to get a quarterback to do that. For him to be completing whatever percentage of his passes he’s completing, speaks to all those things. If you’re not doing those things, that’s not going to happen. Everybody in the country wishes that they could have that type of completion percentage, and reason why people can do it, it’s really hard to do on a play-to-play basis, what he’s able to do. Even the basic stuff, right? Going through progressions, taking the right footwork, knowing where to go with the ball, he’s extremely smart pre-snap, being able to get us in the right play, seeing what the defense is doing, knowing where to go.

"All those things have been really impressive for a first-year starter. I would also say, at the same time, it’s not a finished product. When he leaves here, it’s gonna be even better, right? It’s hard to imagine how good he can be. So we’re really excited about J.J., we’re really happy with where he is."

Of course, not everything is perfect and there are always things to improve. McCarthy would be the first person to tell you that.

U-M's issues with downfield passing continue to be a problem. Fortunately, the offense hasn't needed to rely upon that facet of the game to get wins this season.

It's something that Weiss is looking to see improve down the stretch.

"We’d love to see some more deep ball touchdowns," Weiss said. "But we’re thrilled with J.J. and the way that he’s playing right now. He’s way ahead of anywhere we expected him to be as a first-year starter at this point, and really, a credit to him for his approach and how hard he works because he’s a really talented player. But he’s even surpassed our expectations for how fast he can grow and how fast he can develop and we’re thrilled with where he is."