Michigan head football coach Kyle Whittingham made it clear on Monday during his weekly press conference that Bryce Underwood is still the team’s starting quarterback. What he did not make clear is why — at least in any way that actually addresses the on-field problems that have contributed to back-to-back losses.
When asked why he believes Underwood still gives Michigan the best chance to win, here is what Whittingham had to say:
“6-4, 230, runs like the wind, a cannon arm, can make every throw and
then some, has a whole year of experience under his belt last year, five games this year. And so that being the case, looking at the room as a whole, we feel that at this point, he still gives us the best chance to win.”
Every single thing Whittingham mentioned — Underwood’s height, weight, speed, arm strength, experience — is either a physical attribute or a line on his resume. Whittingham did not talk up Underwood’s ability to read a defense, his decision-making, his poise in critical situations, nor his ability to go through progressions when the primary read is taken away.
And those are the things that have been getting Michigan in trouble when Underwood takes the snap and goes back to pass.
Von’s Take
I want to be a little fair and lenient to Whittingham, as press conferences are not always the place where coaches reveal their full evaluation of a player. However, the timing and context of all this matter.
Michigan has lost consecutive games and remains winless in the Big Ten following a much-needed bye week. Underwood has had costly turnovers in both those losses — unfortunately, both of the next two opponents in Penn State (+5) and Indiana (+3) have a positive turnover margin this season. Furthermore, Underwood has had at least one turnover in all but one game (vs Oklahoma) this season.
When given the opportunity to articulate why he is still the right player for the job, Whittingham’s answer didn’t sound like a genuine evaluation of Underwood’s quarterback abilities. Height, weight, speed and arm strength are things you cite when you are trying to convince someone to believe in a prospect — kind of like former Michigan quarterback Joe Milton — they are not the things you cite when you are trying to explain why a struggling quarterback deserves to keep his job. In that moment, I would have much rather heard about Underwood’s improvements during the bye week, his on-field vision, decision-making, and more.
Instead, we got measureables. Things all of us already knew about that have yet to materialize in Underwood being a great quarterback as opposed to what he is right now: a great athlete.
That is a deeply concerning answer. Not because I think Underwood should be benched — that is a separate conversation — but because it suggests to me that the coaching staff may not have a great answer to the actual question that was asked.
Trevor’s take
It would be much easier for a team to always have an elite quarterback if it merely involved being enamored by measurables. Many teams make the mistake of recruiting or drafting a quarterback because of how strong their arm is. JaMarcus Russell had a cannon, but the Oakland Raiders should have never drafted him No. 1 overall. Joe Milton had a strong arm as well for Michigan, but Cade McNamara’s average arm beat him out ahead of the 2021 season because McNamara had a better grasp of Michigan’s offense and reading defenses.
Whittingham says Underwood “can make every throw” — there’s a big difference between “can” and “has.” Underwood can be wildly inaccurate and also hasn’t excelled at reading coverages, throwing into double and triple coverage far too often and not throwing to wide-open targets on the same play.
Whittingham also mentioned Underwood’s experience as a starter, yet Underwood hasn’t visibly progressed on the field or on the box score throughout his 18 starts. At what point are those starts valuable when the results aren’t even above average?
Underwood has completed 59.3 percent of his throws this year after having a 60.3 percent completion rate last year. He has been as careless with the football like he was last year, too. He threw 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions last year; he has five touchdowns and four interceptions through five games this year. Surely, there’s a chance Underwood can become a much better player than he has been, but there’s nothing yet to indicate a quick ascension is imminent.
Perhaps backup Tommy Carr isn’t the answer, but it’s currently fair to question if Underwood actually gives Michigan the best chance to win — he’s had costly turnovers in Michigan’s back-to-back losses to Minnesota and Iowa. Whether Michigan sticks with Underwood for the rest of the season as QB1 or not, sticking with him simply because he is tall, strong, with a “cannon” arm would be a mistake. Other attributes are just as important, such as being clutch, having a high football IQ, being a great leader, throwing an accurate ball and limiting turnovers.
How many of those attributes does Underwood possess? Those are the questions the coaching staff should be asking, if they don’t already know the answers.
