When you think about Minnesota vs Michigan football, “friendly” isn’t the first term that comes to mind. But in the Minnesota Vikings locker room, collegiate rivalries are pushed aside rather quickly when one-time enemies become NFL teammates.
Of course, Blake Cashman and JJ McCarthy never played against each other in college. Cashman last played for the Gophers during the 2018 season. Back then, McCarthy was only a freshman in high school.
In fact, Blake was no longer in Dinkytown when JJ took a recruiting visit to the University of Minnesota campus back in 2019 as a HS sophomore. But neither the age difference, nor Little Brown Jug rivalry, has stopped the Vikings’ 1st round pick (and future of the franchise) from making a big time impression on his new “one of us” teammate.
Blake Cashman blown away by JJ McCarthy early on
Blake Cashman spoke with former NFL lineman, Chris Long, on the “Green Light Podcast” Friday. When asked about McCarthy, the former Gopher couldn’t help but gush over his new Wolverine teammate.
“JJ’s awesome. He’s got the skills to be a good quarterback in this league. But where I’m impressed is like, I don’t know how it was for you as a rookie, but most rookies I see, and when I was a rookie, come in and you’re just trying to take it all in, survive each day.
JJ, you can just see how calm he is, how confident he is. He’s got a smile on his face, he’s going around and meeting everyone on the team, having real conversations. That’s the maturity and professionalism that a quarterback needs to have.
He’s a student of the game. He’s eager to learn, eager to lead, which it doesn’t matter how old you are. I mean, the kid’s 21, great young man. But if you’re going to be the quarterback, you have to be the face and leader of the football team.
He understands that. So, I’m really excited to see him continue to put his game together. And you know… [depending on] the opportunity he gets, he could have a special year.”
Blake Cashman talks about new teammate JJ McCarthy (Green Light Podcast)
Yes, we have heard TJ Hockenson compliment McCarthy, along with a few other Vikings players. Obviously, we’ve heard plenty from head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. But it’s so early in JJ’s tenure that most of his teammates aren’t going to feel comfortable going out on a limb for a 21-year-old they know nothing about.
This is the kind of praise we want to see from Minnesota Vikings players
Not Blake, though. Whatever interactions Cashman has had with the 2024 No. 10 overall pick have been extremely positive. But it’s not just about the run-in’s he has had with McCarthy. The 28-year-old Gopher alum has been watching how his new rookie QB has been interacting with everyone else, too.
Cashman has grown so impressed with McCarthy’s leadership and the aura, that he blew right past the football part of the question, regarding his new QB. ‘Yeah, he’s got the skill blah blah blah, but let’s talk about how cool this dude is’. JJ detractors will say that teammate interviews, like Blake’s, don’t matter. What else is he going to say, right?
Wrong, there are a lot of other things he can say, or tones he can carry. But Cashman went the extra mile. Doused on additional, unnecessary praise, which is why his interview sticks out over other Vikings players we have seen talk about McCarthy so far. But again, it’s very early. We haven’t even reached his first NFL training camp yet.
So, as we go through camp and his teammates get to know him better, do we start to hear more unfiltered gushing, like Blake’s? Or, do we get generic, more toned down responses? It’s these types of interviews and insider reports from camp that will give us our first real readings on what type of NFL quarterback, and leader of men, JJ McCarthy will be.
Remember, before he has a chance to win us over on the football field, he has to win over his teammates and coaches inside the locker room. Looks like he’s got one win under his belt already, in that regard.
