NFL Draft: Nazareth community gathers to celebrate J.J. McCarthy

McCOOK – For a moment Thursday night, April 25, almost 100 Nazareth fans and alumni listened in silence at the Stadium Club at The Max with bated breath.

They had followed the same pattern with every pick of the NFL Draft that was announced throughout the night. When it was time for the Minnesota Vikings to make their choice with the 10th overall pick, the group finally got what it waited for all night.

The Vikings selected La Grange Park native and former Nazareth quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

The bar erupted with cheers as teachers, parents, classmates and future McCarthys celebrated. Fans dressed in Michigan jerseys hugged one another while others clad with Nazareth gear threw high-fives around to whomever would accept them.

The kid from La Grange Park had made it.

“It’s just crazy,” 10-year-old Jacob Shinerdla said. “It’s one in a million. Props to him.”

The Nazareth community gathered to watch McCarthy become the second former Roadrunners football player to be drafted in the past six years. Julian Love, who graduated from the La Grange Park school in 2016, was drafted by the New York Giants in 2019.

McCarthy fulfilled a destiny that seemed set for him when Iowa State offered him a scholarship offer as an eighth grader. He went on to lead the Roadrunners to the Class 7A state championship as a sophomore in 2018 before reaching the Class 7A state title game again in 2019.

McCarthy transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior year since football was not played in Illinois in fall 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. McCarthy went on to play at Michigan, leading the Wolverines to the college football playoffs in 2022 and a national championship in January.

Nazareth president Deborah Tracy was inundated with messages from alumni and fans who wanted to come together Thursday night to celebrate someone who meant so much to the community.

“That says a lot about the kid that he is, the family he has, that many people from many parts of the Nazareth family want to come and celebrate,” Tracy said. “I don’t know if it can get more exciting than this.”

A group of young fans wore some of the T-shirts that were given out to the town’s Little League program earlier that day. The T-shirts featured two of McCarthy’s famous sayings. On the front it read, “Just a kid from La Grange Park.” The back read, “Trying to be the best I can be everyday.”

“It’s just crazy. It’s one in a million. Props to him.”

—  Jacob Shinerdla, J.J. McCarthy fan

Shinerdla and his friends and family – Nathan Shinerdla, Jack Goldbi and Connor Dwyer – all grew up idolizing McCarthy. No matter how many kids waited after Nazareth football games, McCarthy would take the time to sign everything that was thrown in front of him.

After watching someone from their own community make it to the NFL, why can’t they?

“That any kid, if they put in the work and they believe in themselves, they can go to the NFL someday,” Nazareth alumnus and parent Patrick Keenan said. “Which is pretty amazing.”

Nazareth offensive coordinator Casey Moran coached McCarthy when he was with the Roadrunners and watched McCarthy develop into an NFL quarterback. While Moran was impressed with McCarthy’s work ethic and desire to reach his highest potential, McCarthy’s impact on the community has impressed Moran the most.

Thursday night was more than watching a former student fulfill his NFL dream. It was a night for a community to celebrate someone who gave so much to them.

“It means a lot to the community to be able to look at someone who is talented, who’s well-known, who’s famous and be able to say that’s a good person, he was good to me, my kids,” Moran said. “It’s easy to root for a guy like that.”