Analyst asks: Can Bryce Underwood take the next step at Michigan?
Analyst asks: Can Bryce Underwood take the next step at Michigan?
Isaiah Hole, Wolverines WireFri, July 17, 2026 at 6:15 PM UTC
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One of the big storylines for Michigan football this offseason has been centered around quarterback Bryce Underwood as he enters his second year of college football, this time with a new coaching staff working to improve his game dramatically.
Though Underwood underwhelmed a year ago, it was his true freshman year, so he got some grace for that, as well as with the turmoil surrounding his former coaching staff. Now, he's got new faces leading the charge, with Kyle Whittingham taking over the program and a new offensive coordinator in Jason Beck and quarterbacks coach in Koy Detmer Jr. Thus, expectations have risen, and much of the populace is questioning whether or not Underwood is up to the challenge.
Two weeks ago, The Ringer's Todd McShay appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and detailed his thoughts on Underwood and how he is evaluating his progress. There's a lot he likes about the talented second-year player, but a lot he'd like to see improve.
"He's such a gifted athlete. I'll be honest with you," McShay said. "There's similar talk with him with, like, Malik Washington, really talented freshman last year at Maryland. Just watching him throw the ball, it's different. Watching him just walk out of the tunnel, if you will. He's 6-3 and change, 235 pounds. There are some really raw young quarterbacks. The Mississippi State guy, there's some guys like that, and he's in the same breath. When people were talking about them, Underwood would come up. We've got to see kind of that next step.
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"I want to see, in a new system, maturity, drilling it home. This offseason is critical for him because where he was as a passer last year does not cut it. And I give a lot of grace to first-year freshmen, his circumstances, that program, all the things. But there's got to be a lot of maturity in his game, let's just say, from year one to year two in order for him to become anywhere close to what the expectation was coming out. And so it's on everyone in that program to help channel all of that. But it was frustrating at times. Like, Marcel Reed was frustrating at times. But I watched Marcel Reed from Texas A&M after watching his tape and seeing a lot of the same misthrows and missed opportunities. And I saw him at the Manning Passing Academy, and I'm like, this young man has been grinding. Thicker, looks the part, balls coming out quicker, more accuracy.
"So I'm hoping to see that from Underwood this fall. Because it's amazing what one offseason of reset, refine, and go repeat can do for a quarterback. You've got to remember, we're talking 18 to 19 years old. So there's a lot of hope, a lot of hope, but also a lot of work that has to be done."
It's going to be difficult for Underwood in some regard, as he'll be facing some top teams this year in Oklahoma, Penn State, Iowa, Indiana, Oregon, and Ohio State. But Whittingham managed to bring in several new targets for Underwood to throw to, including JJ Buchanan, Jaime Ffrench, and Salesi Moa.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: The Ringer's Todd McShay on Bryce Underwood: 'He's such a gifted athlete'
Source: “AOL Sports”
