ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Kyle Whittingham made waves across college football last week when he declared that Bryce Underwood's job as the starting quarterback was confirmed going into Week 2, but still wasn't 'infinite.'
"He's our QB right now, and it's not something that's infinite," Whittingham said. "At some point, we've got to turn a corner, and we've got to see improvement. As we do with a bunch of stuff, we've got to see improvement out of the coaches.
"And so it's not just on Bryce, and it's not just Bryce's job that he's not absolutely set and conquering. Nobody says that. We've got to perform week in and week out, and become somebody that we feel like is playing at a level that we can win with. And that goes far beyond Bryce."
As much as the
Western Michigan clock discourse dominated the news throughout the early part of the week, the Underwood discussion reached a fever pitch by midweek -- especially when Underwood stated on Wednesday that he hadn't heard that his coach had said what he did, and responded, 'That's cool.' However, Whittingham says that his own statements were misconstrued.
After the Wolverines beat Oklahoma, 17-10, on Saturday, Whittingham disputed that what he had said was particularly controversial and that it wasn't a slight on Underwood.
"I never made those comments. I was asked if his job was infinitely etched in stone. Whose job is ever etched in stone? So that was my answer," Whittingham said. "I never brought that up or alluded to that. Are you guys all guaranteed jobs? I don't. And I don't know anyone in football that does. So I don't agree that I opened that can of worms. Bryce is our quarterback, and that's where we are right now."
Some coaches at times make statements to the media with the idea that it will have a certain effect with the player. However, Whittingham says that he wasn't doing that with Underwood and that he eventually had a discussion with him, and that he was pleased with how his quarterback responded.
"I'm not going to say that it was a secret calculating move or had ulterior motives," Whittingham said. "But I talked to Bryce about it after. I said, hey, here's what came out. And he said, cool. It doesn't bother me, coach. I'm just going to go to work and do my thing. That's exactly what you want a quarterback to say. He's a stand-up guy."
Underwood was 9-for-17 for 111 yards through the air and had 18 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham clarifies controversial Bryce Underwood comments
