Any amount of praise or rebuke comes from a certain point of view. After all, back in the spring, when Athlon Sports spoke to anonymous coaches about Michigan football entering 2026, it came with those opposing coaches praising Kyle Whittingham and quarterback Bryce Underwood.
However, those who spoke to ESPN weren't as effusive in their praise. In fact, some weren't praising at all.
ESPN polled some anonymous coaches ahead of the 2026 season, and, to be fair, there was on defensive coordinator who believes that the criticism of Underwood is too harsh, and that it's solely because of the lofty expectations that were foisted upon him due to being the No. 1 overall recruit in 2025.
"The only reason there's mixed reviews, and that they're not talking
about him still being young, is because of the expectations coming out of recruiting," a Big Ten defensive coordinator said. "We've really put a bull's-eye on a lot of these kids because of the exorbitant amount that they're paying them."
But then, ESPN found one coach who had nothing good to say about the Wolverines' signal-caller. So much so that he said that Underwood is and will be the reason why the Wolverines will lose games.
"I'm not impressed," one coach said. "He just misses and misses. He's tall, so he's able to make certain plays that other guys can't, and he's big, so he can run. But I don't see him as someone that's dangerous at all. He's a guy who can lose you some games."
Once upon a time, hitting 60% completion as a quarterback was the benchmark for being good. Nowadays, with quarterbacks hitting 70% and even 80% over the course of the season, the bar has been raised. Even still, with Michigan's receiving corps last year, and an offensive line that took much of the year to get better at pass protection, along with the coaching situation a year ago, Underwood managing over 60% passing isn't exactly missing and missing.
He does have to improve upon his freshman year, but you know who also had a really bad freshman season? Dante Moore, the Oregon QB, who started at UCLA. Moore is now seen as the likely No. 1 overall draft pick and a Heisman Trophy frontrunner in the preseason. It's almost like you cannot judge a quarterback based on being thrown into action in his first year in college.
Another coach wasn't very high on Kyle Whittingham, noting his lack of success at putting quarterbacks into the NFL. As a result, he believes that Michigan will struggle under his leadership.
"He's a good head coach, but in 21 years, they haven't had a quarterback drafted," the coach said. "Just because you pay somebody money doesn't make them good. There's going to be a little reality check on that."
Well, college is one thing, the NFL is another. Whittingham had success in Salt Lake City despite those metrics. And now that he has more resources, that could change. Yes, the Utes had the former No. 1 overall draft pick in Alex Smith, but it's not like Utah was a hotbed of recruiting top signal callers, either. Even so, Whittingham has had productive quarterbacks. If Michigan is to get similar production out of Underwood as Utah got out of Devon Dampier last year, chances are high that the maize and blue will win some of those games on the schedule where they aren't favored.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Anonymous coaches doubt Michigan QB Bryce Underwood, Kyle Whittingham
