Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood has one season of college football under his belt. It wasn’t a perfect debut by any means, but new offensive coordinator Jason Beck is expected help him improve his game
heading into his second season with the program.
Beck has spent nearly two decades in coaching following his playing days, with all of this experience being on the offensive side of the ball Here’s why Beck’s previous experience should get you excited for Underwood in 2026.
Virginia – QB coach
Beck may not have had control of the offense while he worked with quarterbacks at Virginia, but the position had some flashes of brilliance during his tenure. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong helped put Virginia’s offense on the map in 2021. It was No. 2 in passing offense for the season with Armstrong completing 65 percent of his passes, which is pretty good especially considering he threw the ball 500 times. He ended the year with 4,449 yards, 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Underwood only attempted 335 passes in 2025, completing 60.3 percent of those throws for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. You can see how having Beck in Underwood’s ear should help him take a step forward. Just looking at Armstrong’s stats, it’s clear he’s got the ability to make plays with his arm and hit players in stride.
Armstrong had moderate success on the ground with 98 carries for 251 yards and nine touchdowns. As. you’ll see, the quarterback run is a part of Beck’s offenses, and you can expect Underwood to be a part of that in 2026 as well.
Syracuse – QB coach (2 seasons), OC (1 season)
Beck spent two seasons with the Orange, but also operated as the offensive coordinator in 2023 in addition to coaching the quarterbacks. His offense didn’t air it out quite as often in 2023, as quarterback Garret Shrader attempted 214 passes, though some of that was because of an injury.
Shrader ended the season with 1,686 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. While the stats might not leap out, you can tell he has some good vision, and that feels like something to get excited. This is an area Underwood should be able to improve upon moving forward with some coaching from Beck.
Beck also used Shrader on the ground, as he had 113 carries for 469 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023.
New Mexico and Utah
We’re going to lump Beck’s final two stops into one since he worked with quarterback Devon Dampier at both places. While at New Mexico, Dampier attempted 390 passes with a completion percentage of 57.9. He threw for 2,768 yards, 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
However, those numbers significantly improved in 2025 at Utah. Beck brought his attempts down to 334, but Dampier still threw for 2,490 yards, 24 touchdowns and just five interceptions. That’s the kind of year over year improvement that gives hope for Underwood’s sophomore season.
Dampier’s rushing production was higher at New Mexico — he had 155 carries for 1,166 yards and 19 touchdowns. At Utah this season, he had 146 carries for 835 yards and 10 touchdowns. With the weapons around Underwood, I wouldn’t expect to see Underwood’s rushing numbers be quite that high.
Watching Beck’s offenses, it’s clear that his players have a sense of what they’re doing. The quarterbacks look calm and aware, and the players around the quarterbacks know where to be. Sure, you only see the best plays when you are watching highlights, but it’s consistent across each program Beck has been at. At the end of the day, a Beck offense might just be what Underwood needs to live up to his potential.
