The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 49 "If you look at his commitment video, Bryce wanted to be the quarterback at the University of Michigan," Magee said. "The landscape changed over the last few years, and NIL and strategy changed for different programs. When he committed to LSU a year ago, we were at a far different stage in this program. That probably wasn't some- thing we could attain at that time. "I was not here at the time, but that was something that realistically … was proba- bly out of our market and out of our general scope of what Michigan had traditionally done." Some traditions change, though, and this one had to if U-M was going to re- main competitive. One that hasn't, though … not allowing true freshman early enrollees to talk during the spring. The coaches kept Underwood bottled up, for the most part, other than to al- low him an appearance on Michigan alum Rich Eisen's show. There, Underwood laid out his goals for what most — including him — be- lieve will be a three-year NCAA career before he becomes an NFL first-round draft pick. "A couple of Heismans and at least one natty," he said. Bold? Maybe. But some who have been around the program for decades tell us he's the "best they've seen at this age, by far." New Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey has seen his share over the years, and while he's careful not to overdo it — there is a quarterback competition coming this fall with others in the mix — he seems to know what he's got. Yes, he improved a lot, but there were some "wow" moments from the get-go. "He came in pretty ready to go for a freshman," Lindsey said. "His communi- cation, identifying fronts, just calling the plays in the huddle really grew. … We've really huddled more here than he ever has. And he's really got a calm demeanor. "Watching him grow from practice 1 to 15 was unbelievable. We started out pretty simple offensively and defen- sively, did what we called the 'funda- mental five.' Once [defensive coordi- nator] Wink [Martindale] got started getting his stuff going over there, there were some growing pains, for sure. But I thought he made a lot of progress." Not surprisingly, the receivers looked better this spring as a result, too. Underwood's passes get there in a hurry, and his accuracy was eye-opening. Even his misses were usually placed only where his pass catchers could get them. Receivers who may have been frustrated by the lack of opportunity last year were all smiles this spring. "He's unique," receivers coach Ron Bel- lamy said in June. "He's a big kid with a strong arm, accurate, super cerebral … a super smart kid. "We've had a lot of great quarterbacks at Michigan. I don't think it would be fair to Bryce to say who's comparable to him now, because he hasn't taken a snap yet. But there are a lot of great things he's done thus far in a short time. You can definitely see it. "I'm most impressed with his leadership and the way he comes out there ready to go every day. For a young kid, that's pretty impressive." Lindsey plans to ease Underwood into the offense, just as he would have a three- year starter learning a new offense, he in- sisted. He also noted the QB competition is open heading into fall, echoing Moore's comment that his freshman wants to "earn" the job, not be given it. "I'm a believer in execution more than number of plays," he said. "It doesn't mat- ter if he's never played or is a guy that's a three-year starter. We believe in the core plays we have, the core concepts we're run- ning, and we feel like certain ones are better in certain weeks depending on what you're facing. "But whoever the quarterback is, we have to make sure they understand the concepts and the adjustments. We want to address those things and show them differ- ent ways, but we're trying to make things as simple as we can." Underwood, though, seems to make even the toughest throws look easy on his own, one reason he was the consensus No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He'll have a great shot to earn the starting job this fall if he continues to progress like he did this spring. He'll need help from his line and the skill position players around him, of course. If he gets it, it appears he'll be well on his way to becoming the next in a long line of great Michigan signal-callers. ❑ Teammates Marvel At Underwood's Skill, Maturity Many of Bryce Underwood's Michigan teammates took a few moments to watch the true freshman at ReliaQuest Bowl practices in December, and several were obviously impressed by what they saw. A few were seen shaking their heads after an impressive throw, others were laughing among themselves after they witnessed the frosh in action for the first time. "He's 'the truth,'" former safety Quinten Johnson said after seeing him for the first time, and he wasn't alone in thinking it. With injuries to veteran Davis Warren and Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene limiting the competition, Underwood took a lot of snaps during spring practice, making the most of them. Every offensive player interviewed this spring marveled at his physical skills. It was his maturity for his age, though, that really got their attention. "He's really humble … not a big head, ego, nothing like that," junior tight end Jalen Hoffman said. "He comes in to work, and he wants to get better every day. He's not riding off his success in high school. He's really trying to be one of those top players in college football." The best quarterbacks are also great leaders — see former standout and national champion J.J. McCarthy — and Underwood seems to be a natural there, too. "When you're on the field you see it, but it's when you're outside the field, too," sophomore running back Jordan Marshall said. "When you're walking around, when you're talking to him, when you're playing basketball, shooting hoops, eating — there's something about the kid, and that's who we recruit here. "We recruit people instead of players, and it just so happens he's also an amazing athlete and player. The guys we have in our locker room, that's what's more important. To be around a guy that gives back, loves his teammates, who puts his team over himself … you couldn't ask for anything better." — Chris Balas Underwood, who'd been impress- ing teammates since ReliaQuest Bowl practices in December, made his public debut at the Maize and Blue Spring Game on April 19. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN