Not many quarterbacks are talked about more nationally than Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood — for better and worse. That comes with the territory of being the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class and starting for Michigan as a true freshman. Underwood went 9-4 as a starter last year, and threw for 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions along with six rushing scores.
“I think the expectations might have been a little high for him last year,” new Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “I mean,
he was a just-turned-18-year-old true freshman and thrust into the starting role of the Michigan Wolverines. And, you know, I don’t know what people did expect, but he was able to win nine ball games and put up some decent numbers. I mean, he knows, we know that those numbers have to improve.”
There are certainly heightened expectations for Underwood heading into his sophomore campaign. He has a new offensive coordinator in Jason Beck and a scheme that will allow Underwood to use his legs more and also allow plenty of chances through the air. Underwood also has offensive weapons to help him succeed — most notably wideouts like Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan and running backs in Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter.
Underwood has improved since the beginning of the offseason. He had a new scheme to learn on top of refining his mechanics. A lot was thrown at Underwood. Michigan quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. said that a lot was thrown at Underwood and he “really worked his tail off.” From learning a new system to improving his footwork and pocket presence, Detmer said that things have been moving slower for Underwood in fall camp.
When speaking with the media on Wednesday, Jason Beck talked about Underwood’s journey this offseason. With Michigan’s season opener just two days away versus Western Michigan, it sounds as if Underwood is in a good place.
“With spring, everything was so new that there were really good days and there were bad days,” Beck said. “It was really more up and down, where throughout this fall camp it’s been much more steady, much more consistent, much more predictable day in, day out with those reads and decisions and the quickness of those decisions. So he made a really nice jump that you’d hope would happen from spring to fall with just a better understanding, more decisive, more dialed in with everything that’s happening.”
Beck said that Underwood took a reall big jump from spring to fall camp, something that Whittingham mentioned earlier this week, calling Underwood “markedly better through fall camp than he was at any point in spring.”
It’s been a busy offseason for Underwood, who didn’t take much time off. Underwood worked out with quarterback trainer Jordan Palmer this summer. Underwood spent time training side by side with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Underwood said in July that “staying calm through the storm” like Burrow is something he’s working on. Underwood may have done all the right things this offseason to put him in the best situation to succeed once the games start to count, and now it’s time to see if his labor has fruitful rewards.
