What a week for J.J. McCarthy. After leading the Minnesota Vikings to a historic comeback on Monday night, former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy became a father on Friday.
Rome Micah McCarthy was 8 pounds, 7 ounces according to a social media post.
McCarthy and his partner, Katya Kuropas, announced in May that they were expecting a boy in September. He ended up arriving just days after McCarthy’s NFL debut.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters on Thursday that McCarthy was the team facility that morning but left before practice that afternoon to be with his fiancée at the hospital for the impending birth.
On Monday, McCarthy had quite the welcome to the NFL. Minnesota trailed the Chicago Bears 17-6 in the third quarter after McCarthy threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. McCarthy tallied three touchdowns in the final 12:13 to rally the Vikings to a 27-24 win, becoming the first quarterback to win despite trailing by double digits to start the fourth quarter in his NFL debut. Minnesota hosts Atlanta on Sunday.
McCarthy, a former five-star recruit from Illinois, lived up to the hype at Michigan. He played sparingly as a freshman, won the starting job early in his sophomore season, and led Michigan to the national championship as a junior in 2023. His stats in Michigan’s run-heavy offense were never eye-popping, but he was efficient. Michigan went 27-1 in the games he started.
Minnesota drafted him 10th overall in 2024, but a severe knee injury in the preseason delayed his debut until 2025. He was named a team captain despite never playing in a regular-season game. On Monday, he threw two touchdowns and ran for another (from 14 yards out) in the final quarter. He finished 13 of 20 for 143 yards passing.
He and Kuropas met as students at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Ill. She was a fixture at Michigan games during his time there, kissing him from the front row after the Wolverines beat Washington for the national title in Houston. They got engaged in January 2024.
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