Last year, when Bryce Underwood was a true freshman, despite having dual-threat capabilities at the quarterback position, his former head coach, Sherrone Moore, was reticent to run him, noting that if you're going to run your quarterback, you'd better have two. But now, there's a coaching staff in Ann Arbor who doesn't hold that opinion.
Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck have been adamant that they're going to deploy the players' talents to the utmost, which means Underwood using his legs to keep defenses off-balance.
Under Whittingham and Beck, Utah quarterback Devon Dampier ran 146 times for 835 yards and 10 touchdowns, whereas Underwood ran just 88 times for 392 yards. Underwood averaged 6.8 carries a game, but many of those
were scrambles and sacks rather than designed runs. Meanwhile, Dampier ran 12.1 times a game. So when CBS Sports was evaluating who the most dynamic QB run threats are, Michigan's Underwood ranked seventh.
7. Bryce Underwood, Michigan
Former No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood has often drawn comparisons to Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton because of his rare combination of size and athleticism. The consistency still needs to catch up, but the flashes that made him one of the most coveted quarterback prospects in recent memory were evident during his freshman season.
Underwood's elusiveness showed up most when defenses thought they had him contained. He averaged 0.28 tackles avoided per rush, the 10th-best mark among the qualified quarterbacks in this exercise. He also ranked 14th in both explosive rush rate (13.5%) and yards after contact per rush (3.9).
The next step for Underwood is turning those flashes into consistent production. His erratic performance in Michigan's spring game raised some questions about his long-term development, but more time with new offensive coordinator Jason Beck should help unlock a new level. Beck previously worked with Devon Dampier and now gets the chance to develop a quarterback with a similarly rare athletic profile.
Expect Underwood's elusive meter to rise sharply under Whittingham and Beck now that they've decided that having a running quarterback is in their best interest. Whittingham even said at Big Ten media days that it's a nonnegotiable to have that element in his offense.
"The college game, in my opinion, has got to have the QB run game as part of your offensive scheme. It has to," Whittingham said. "If you don't, you're missing the boat, because there's so much benefit that can be made from that quarterback running, because you're in a plus one situation in the box where they don't have a guy to account for that, unless they're willing to bring their free safety down or both safeties and totally commit to stopping the run. Then that opens up other stuff that you can throw at him."
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Where Bryce Underwood ranks in CBS Sports elusive QB ranking
