After getting perhaps a bare minimum of direct coaching last year, Michigan football quarterback Bryce Underwood wasn't just taking a new, dedicated coaching staff at face value this offseason. Famously, he hired a dedicated offseason coach in Jordan Palmer, who works with NFL clients such as Joe Burrow, as well as college signal callers who are looking for an extra edge.
While Underwood has supposedly turned a corner in fall camp, it won't be clear how his offseason work has paid off until he actually plays in real games, but Palmer has faith in what his client will be able to do once he straps on a winged helmet this year.
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show last week, Palmer says that he's seen Underwood grow quite a bit since he started working
with him. And it's not just about him being a client -- he's seen the imprint of the former Utah staff on the sophomore quarterback, and he feels like the village working with him, as well as Underwood's work ethic, will pay dividends this fall.
"I didn't watch a lot of Michigan live last year. And I started working with (Underwood) this offseason," Palmer said. "So the first thing I did was go through every single snap. And then I started spending time there. He spent a lot of time out here. And the more I learned about the scenario last year, and then, obviously, Coach Moore and that situation and all this stuff -- you're an insider; you know everything that's going on there. The more I learned about what was going on there, the more I was impressed with how well he played as a true freshman. And I'm not saying that he threw 39 touchdowns. There's the stat line, but I don't look at stat lines. I'm looking at 17-year-old, because that's how he started the season, with those pressure and expectations. A better understanding of just how everything was going on around him is the best way I'll say it.
"I was actually pretty impressed. He held it together, made some good throws, made some plays. With that being said, yeah, I think there's a lot of steps forward. I mean, part of this is I've worked with Kyle Whittingham in the past at Utah -- Cam Rising. There was a lot of times when I was kind of saying to myself, 'You know, if I'm the top kid in the country, I actually might go to Utah.' And it wasn't because I love Salt Lake City. It was because the program that I saw Kyle running, the strength staff and the PT staff and the way they ran practices. And I've just been impressed. I've been a Kyle Whittingham fan. I don't even know him now. I've just been a fan for years, because I was working with Utah. And he's a defensive coach. So when I would go work with Utah, I wasn't working with the defensive coach. I was working with the offensive staff and the players. And I just think this is an exciting time to be a Michigan fan. And I think it's an upgrade over maybe the regime before. And I'm not trying to add to the hype here.
"And they have a lot of pressure on them. And they have a difficult schedule and all that. But the biggest takeaway I have from Bryce Underwood is (I'm) blown away by the professionalism, the work ethic, and the attention to detail. The physical traits are well-documented. Everyone can see that in the opinions. And the noisier this offseason's gotten, nothing's changed about that approach. And so I'm bullish on 19. And the staff around him, Koy Detmer Jr., the quarterback coach, is a coach to watch for sure. Because if this season goes the way that I think it's going to go for Bryce and Michigan, Koy Detmer Jr. is going to be fantastic. I know a lot of quarterback coaches, traditional ones on teams. And I'm as impressed by Koy Detmer Jr. as any of them.
"And so, yeah, I just think this is an exciting time to be a Wolverine fan."
While that could all be said as platitudes, how does he quantify Underwood's ascendancy? Where has he made notable improvements?
One of the areas of Michigan's offense last year where Underwood struggled was in the quick game. And that was one of the points of emphasis this offseason, and Palmer has seen remarkable improvement in just that.
"One of the things you've got to start with is really just quick game footwork and intermediate passing game," Palmer said. "Because those are kind of like free throws, right? Like, if I'm going to do quick game footwork and I'm going to throw a sticker out to my tight end, a little five-yard out, that shouldn't be a contested throw. Like, there's actually not enough time for the D-line to get there. So it really comes down to putting myself in the same position from a leverage perspective, from an alignment perspective, from a which foot -- left, then right -- how do I turn? And it seems really simple.
"And fans will watch a guy miss a slam and go, 'Oh my gosh, how's that guy miss that? He's wide open. But I think quick game footwork, typically that's where I start with guys. Because similar to basketball, right? You've got three kinds of shots in basketball. You've got an uncontested shot, you've got a contested shot, and then there's turning a contested shot into an uncontested shot -- like a step back jumper or fadeaway. And quarterback, it's the same way. And quick game screens, things like that, those are uncontested shots.
"So getting yourself in the same position of leverage and alignment is kind of the first place to start with guys. And when that gets better, and quick game accuracy, I had a guy, Demond Williams Jr, that I worked with at Washington, who last year, that was a big point of emphasis. Coming off of his true freshman year and his true sophomore year, he led college football in quick game efficiency. That's probably more of a testament to how you're getting yourself to a position of leverage and alignment than it is necessarily accuracy. And so I would say that would be a big one.
"But I think you're just going to sit, across the board, I think they don't know a ton about what they're going to do on offense. But man, they have weapons. And I did watch a lot of Utah last year, different huddle, different guys. But I'm excited to see what they're able to do and build off the run game that should be really, really strong for Michigan this year."
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Bryce Underwood earns strong endorsement from QB coach Jordan Palmer
