Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood is just two games into his collegiate career, and it’s already clear he’s a gifted athlete with a lot of potential.
Underwood is still getting acclimated to the college game. The schematics are harder, and players are faster and stronger. However, if Underwood is able to gradually improve to where the game slows down for him, well, the sky is the limit.
Underwood, 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds at just 18 years old, is a dual-threat quarterback with stellar
arm strength and great running abilities. Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey told the media on Wednesday that Underwood “can scramble and make plays” and that quarterback runs will be implemented in Michigan’s game plan every week. Lindsey said that Underwood is “capable of doing a great job” with designed QB runs.
Lindsey also spoke about two great NFL quarterbacks and how they can extend plays with their legs. Lindsey discussed Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson when talking about what Underwood can bring to the table for Michigan. Allen and Jackson are improvisational masters, and their scrambling prowess leads to successful passing.
“When you watch football, like the Sunday night game, right, those guys, those two quarterbacks are obviously probably the best in the world right now — Buffalo and the Ravens. And what you see is they make a lot of plays off schedule,” Lindsey said.
Allen and Jackson put on a show on Sunday Night Football, and the final score wound up being 42-41, Bills. Can Underwood put on the same kind of fireworks show if needed this year? Lindsey feels good about the chances of Underwood making off-schedule plays.
“Bryce is very capable of doing that,” Lindsey said. “It’s something that I think he did the other night a couple times. You saw that, I think the one throw to McCulley and then one of the balls to the back.”
While Lindsey wasn’t trying to say Underwood’s on the same level as players like Allen and Jackson, who have both won NFL MVP, he does share a similarity with both of them — he can make things happen on the move, be it running or throwing. As each week goes by, Underwood should only get more comfortable, and his abilities should ascend. The next step is playing well against a Central Michigan team on Saturday that has given up over 300 passing yards in each of its first two contests.
