EAGAN, Minn. — J.J. McCarthy smiled the full seven-and-a-half minutes.

His first media session as Minnesota's unquestioned starting QB followed the opening walk-through of 2025 Vikings Training Camp.

As players in the Indoor Practice Facility headed from the walk-through to the locker room and cafeteria, the young quarterback addressed questions from the media about his summer break and preparedness to step in as the new starter.

"It's definitely a different feeling," quipped McCarthy about having a year under his belt, "and a really good one."

The 22-year-old successfully rehabbed a torn meniscus suffered in his right knee during his exhibition debut that upended his rookie season well before last September. He sharpened his mind in weekly 1-on-1 meetings with Head Coach Kevin O'Connell as the Vikings and former quarterback Sam Darnold rolled to 14 wins, and then had a phenomenal offseason, per his coach, giving him every reason to smile.

When asked how different this moment is from a year ago, McCarthy cited several small but important nuances: He knows the offense better; same with his teammates, and how they move and react to certain coaching points; and he's more aware of the day-to-day grind between practices and meetings.

In other words, McCarthy is more ready – and itching to take advantage of competition in camp.

"Just all the opportunities of growth," McCarthy said regarding his internal focus. "That's the biggest thing I'm looking forward to. There's so many ways that you can get better in protections and reads and reacting to what the defense is throwing at you in the pocket. And on the back end, there's just so many ways to improve going against this defense every day. With the coaches and players around us and around me, there's never a day where you don't learn anything. You learn a lot."

With O'Connell in his ear, and Brian Flores' defense in his gaze, learning seems like a never-ending guarantee. While personnel, such as safeties Harrison Smith and Joshua Metellus, in Flores' scheme can mix up the fits and confuse the offense, McCarthy at least has an idea of what he'll see from that side based on experiences in OTAs and minicamp, as well as extensive film review throughout the summer.

Unique from the offseason program, however, which helped McCarthy gauge his action on varying throws, O'Connell relayed Tuesday that sessions now will place added emphasis on situational mastery.

"Now we have that element of those (defensive) fronts in the rush, and how rush and coverage can work together to make things uncomfortable on quarterbacks. So now we can see just a new layer of information, and he's had the ability to kind of progress to these reps," O'Connell explained. "But I do think that there's a layer now where you start having real conversations about managing situations."

For instance, what will McCarthy be inclined to do in a first-and-10 versus a gotta-have-it-type situation? There's a constant risk assessment for quarterbacks, which makes the phrase "game manager" ironic.

"All 32 [starters] better manage the game, or your team's going to lose," O'Connell said. "The best quarterbacks who have ever played this game, and the best guys in the league right now, do a great job managing their decision-making throughout games, and it can change from the ebbs and flows of a game, and I'd like to think during practices we can simulate that. And then the most important part of it is coming in, evaluating the tape, talking about the mindset of each throw – good or bad – and they're all learning moments."

McCarthy, evidently, is in lockstep with his coach.

"I learned what windows I can fit [the ball] in, and what windows I can't, and being able to really feel what that throw felt like, and if I need to put more trajectory on it or put a little less and throw it a little bit earlier," McCarthy said about the freedom he's been encouraged to play with. "Different things like that, that just kind of went into play based off reps that were considered a failure, but I consider them a huge learning lesson and a huge opportunity to grow. There's gonna be more of those opportunities in this camp. We're always striving to get better and learn from our mistakes, but at the end of the day, we're competing a lot, so it's gonna be fun to go out and win some."

On Tuesday, O'Connell noted the newness of "everything" last year, relating to McCarthy, as well as "real improvements." The coach referenced McCarthy's clear strides in the early part of 2024 training camp and reminded that all his work – plus healthy repetitions this spring/summer – is beneficial.

His pedigree also is an asset.

McCarthy shared that "situational football" was prioritized in college, under the direction of current Los Angeles Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and believes lessons learned from that time are applicable to the present.

"It's the same game, so it all corresponds to what we're doing in the NFL," McCarthy said. "Coach O'Connell, Coach Ryan Cordell, it's just a world-class operation when it comes to situational masters. And being able to be in the right mindset [at] the right time and execute, at the end of the day, and that's what this camp is all about, getting put in those situations and getting those reps of working at it.

"You have to know the situation on every single play of the game and just understand, 'Did the defense just get off the field? Are we really trying to take a shot here? Are we really trying to move the sticks and just kind of keep the possession going?' And really take in a multitude of factors within each drive," he added. "But I feel like that's just the No. 1 thing with the quarterback, is handling the situations and making the right decisions. And ultimately, that leads to the most probability of winning football games."

It's like McCarthy echoes O'Connell, and vice-versa.

"So much is a do-your-job-from-a-consistency standpoint," the coach said, generalizing the role of the quarterback. "Footwork, technique, feet and eyes, progressions, and understanding the situation of a play, a drill, a sequence of plays, and just being able to absorb all that as experience in real time.

"So this is a massive time for all of us," O'Connell continued. "It's a great time for J.J. and I to continue our rapport together, not only on the practice field, (but also) in the meeting rooms."

To say there's eyeballs on the 22-year-old is a significant understatement. He's the highest-drafted quarterback in the franchise's 64-year existence. He flashed potential in his lone preseason contest, the game in which he tore his meniscus, passing for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He left Michigan at the pinnacle, going 27-1 as a starter, winning a National Championship and setting program records for career completion rate (67.6 percent) and interception rate (1.5%).

A lower volume of pass plays with the Wolverines, however, prompted some prognosticators to feel uncertain about McCarthy before the draft. The injury last year kept him from the opportunity to offer a rebuttal.

There's maybe no better historical nugget illustrating McCarthy's strange situation than this: Only 2 of 35 quarterbacks chosen in the first round since 2015 have not started a game as a rookie – Green Bay's Jordan Love in 2020 (Aaron Rodgers won MVP that season and repeated the next season), and McCarthy.

But McCarthy speaks with a calm confidence.

Except on the topic of fatherhood. The future NFL starter is a future father, as well, and said he filled his summer reading list with books on being a dad, a pivot from his typical interests in self-help literature.

"I've got a lot to learn in that area," his smile widened.

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