ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- If you want to know what Kyle Whittingham and Jason Beck intend to do with quarterback Bryce Underwood in their first year with Michigan football, look no further than to what they did a year ago with Utah QB Devon Dampier.
At Big Ten media days last week, Whittingham said from the dais:
"A lot of what we did with Devon Dampier here last year in Utah is what you may see Bryce doing some of those things this year."
Dampier threw for 2,490 yards, with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions, and ran for 835 yards on 146 carries with 10 more touchdowns for the Utes last year. Underwood's yardage through the air wasn't dramatically different -- he had 2,428 yards, but was less efficient and had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of
11-to-9. So how much will Underwood be deployed similarly to Dampier and where does he differ?
On Wednesday, offensive coordinator Jason Beck shared more about what they have in common and what they don't.
"Similar in they're both athletic. They can use their feet as part of the run game to be a threat to the defense," Beck said. "Different in that every quarterback has their own strengths, their own weaknesses, how they do things. But Bryce is a big physical kid. Devon was more quick, make you miss. But they're both just a threat. They can pull it. They can create. If things are breaking down, things are covered, they can extend plays.
"So working scramble drill and the rules there when the quarterback gets in the scramble drill to get open is a big part of success we had with Devon and a big part of what we're working on developing when things happen, all the scramble drill rules. So there's a lot of similarities run game-wise, scramble drill, creating, extending plays-wise. And then there are a lot of differences as well."
Last year's staff, led by Sherrone Moore, noted that if you're going to run the quarterback, you'd better have two. That is not the way that this staff thinks, but that doesn't mean they intend on running Underwood into the ground.
There's a rhyme and reason to the designed runs. And sometimes they're scrambles because the pocket breaks down or the opportunity is there. But Beck says that there is intention behind the ideology, and they want to deploy it intelligently with their sophomore quarterback.
"No, there's a balance of how much you do it, who you're playing, what the scheme is, the approach that way," Beck said. "So yeah, there's a lot that goes into kind of being smart about that. The quarterback can easily end up with the ball a lot just regardless, just scrambling and this and that. So we want to be smart at that and be able to control that."
Underwood has been under a fair amount of consternation from the Michigan fan base as well as the national media, especially after a not-so-good showing in the April spring game. But one practice in, Beck likes what he sees.
Ultimately, given that there was a particular aspect of his game that Beck wanted Underwood to work on, he's seen improvement in that area. The question now becomes about consistency as well as if it remains as taught once the live bullets are flying once again on September 5.
"It's so early with just one day; I don't want to kind of overstate what I've seen just from today's practice is what is really impressive about Bryce is he is a really hard worker," Beck said. "He has really picked everything up. So when we're out there, and this was spring, today, when you're out there on the field, and this goes back to, we do a lot. We're trying to challenge and attack the defense. We do a lot. It is not where Bryce does not know what he's doing. He clearly studies and prepares and works hard and learns, and is a smart kid. Now it's just a matter of getting all these reps that he can get to get him prepared with everything.
"When we left spring, after having that whole time period, we wanted to focus on just being a little more, some certain things with his drop and his feet, and so that looked good today. I thought that was, he's been really working on that, focused on that. There's been a lot going into that, so I hope that we continue to see that all spring. You know, today's shoulder pads and helmets, so you're never that in the heat of it, and that's when it matters, is when all the crap's flying and happening around you and being able to, to work the pocket, good base, when to take off, when to hold in there. It's extremely hard. I mean, that's high, high-level challenging stuff to do, and that's what we've been focused on improving, and so good first day, but we'll kind of see how everything goes through (fall)."
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan coaches reveal plan for Bryce Underwood
