Bryce Underwood on the move is finding a groove for Michigan football

No, Bryce Underwood is not on any Heisman Trophy lists.

He's not some can't-miss first-round prospect, and he's not seen as one of the top quarterbacks in the country. What he is, however, is steadily improving. Michigan football's quarterback struggled in Week 1 to the point where there were questions about his job security. In the three weeks since, he's taken notable steps forward.

In Week 2 against Oklahoma, Underwood ran a career-high 18 times for 87 yards, which included a pivotal 38-yard touchdown. In Week 3, he completed a season-best 76.0% of his passes, albeit against lesser competition. But last week was perhaps the most compelling, even in a 20-19 loss to Iowa. Underwood had the best day of his career through the air, as he completed 17

of 28 passes for a career-high 276 yards with two touchdowns.

Though he did have one interception against the Hawkeyes − a costly one at that, given it came on the goal line − it wasn't solely his fault; rather a "miscommunication" between him and wide receiver Andrew Marsh. Overall, coach Kyle Whittingham says the tape has reflected what the numbers have shown: steady improvement.

“I thought he threw the ball very well, going through his progressions, getting the ball out in time, not holding it excessively,” Whittingham said. “I think he’s doing a better job of not getting skittish in the pocket, and he’s got more confidence in his offensive line to stand in there and go through his reads.”

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It's not a huge surprise that as Underwood has gotten more familiar with offensive coordinator Jason Beck, and vice versa, the two are starting to jell. Beck felt he had a good idea of what Underwood liked to do given the study of last year's film and eight months of the offseason working together.

But live action in Week 1 showed the concepts needed to change and U-M had to continue to adapt its calls.

Speaking on "Inside Michigan Football" on Monday, Whittingham said, "We’ve learned a lot about where his comfort level is, and it’s heavily influencing the game plan." As much was evident in Week 4, with a number of designed rollouts and play-action passes, with very few standard dropbacks.

Both of Underwood's touchdowns to JJ Buchanan came as he rolled right. The first was a designed sprint out on third-and-7 and he layered in an 18-yard corner route in the middle of the zone. The second, a 49-yard heave, came after Underwood felt the pocket collapsing, stepped up and rolled right while keeping his eyes downfield before uncorking a deep ball for a walk-in touchdown.

“He throws very well on the move,” Whittingham said. “We saw that on tape last year, and I mentioned at the beginning of the season that’s something that moving the launch point and letting him have some throws on the run appear to be his strength. That’s proven to still be the case. That’s just playing to his strengths.

"He's doing a better job of keeping his eyes downfield when he is on the move, and that's really critical ... in the past, he was more, 'Hey, let's just put the head down and tuck it and go,' and so I think that's just one more step in his maturation and development process."

For the first time this season, Underwood (85.3) graded out as U-M's best offensive player, per Pro Football Focus. He's improved every week on plays without pressure, going from 28.5 to 66.1 to 83.7 to an incredible 92.9 this past week.

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Much of that success came when he was on the move, completing 9 of 11 passes for 162 yards and both touchdowns on throws from outside the pocket. Those extended plays also lead to more opportunities to tuck and run, which in addition to the RPO game is a major reason Underwood is just two yards behind Jordan Marshall for the team lead with 192 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

While there's a lot that doesn't feel great about the first month − too many penalties all over the field, an inability to rip off chunk plays from running backs and a defense that has forced just three turnovers through four games − many believed U-M's 2026 outlook would be determined by Underwood's progress or lack thereof.

This isn't to say he's a finished product; far from it. Underwood has fumbled the ball five times and thrown two interceptions. U-M's offense scored just 10 points on four trips into Iowa's red zone. There's plenty of work to be done.

But seeing progress is important, and after a wildly concerning opener, the former five-star recruit is finally looking more comfortable with an offensive line he trusts and weapons at his disposal. The loss stings, but there were positive signs within it.

“I know we’re heading in the right direction,” Whittingham said. “We’ve seen a steady improvement. Again, that was a very stingy defense, at least through the first three games of the season. So it was good to see the production that we had.”

Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [e-mail] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bryce Underwood on the move is finding a groove for Michigan football