The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 11 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Yes, And There's Room For More By Chris Balas When you're labeled as a "generational" quarterback coming out of high school, there are always go- ing to be lofty expectations. Plenty of freshman signal-callers have started at schools over the years, but Under- wood was supposed to be a Trevor Lawrence type. Lawrence not only started at Clemson but also led the Tigers to a national championship as a true freshman in 2018, throwing for 3,280 yards and completing 65.2 per- cent of his passes with 30 touchdowns. Underwood won't approach those numbers at U-M this year. Through seven games he'd thrown for 1,440 yards with 7 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions, completing 62.4 percent of his passes. At the same time, he has had several passes dropped and didn't have Lawrence's supporting cast. Underwood has been hindered a bit by a decent, not great, receiving corps and some injuries in the tight end room. His line has been leaky, too, causing him to get the ball out quickly. All that said … it's clear the Wolverines have a star in the making. They're starting to ask him to do more with his feet, and while he was averaging 28.9 yards per game (and 5.2 per rush) through seven games, he's got more to give there, too. The bottom line here — he is just what we thought he would be, and you can see the potential that will make him one of the nation's best quarterbacks … in time. He's a future All-American and first- round NFL Draft Pick, and we're here for it. Actually, He Has Exceeded Expectations By Clayton Sayfie We had lofty expectations for the freshman quarterback, but he's slightly exceeded those — and we're not just talking about stats. It's surprising even to us that his numbers aren't a bit gaudier, but the situation must be considered. A star was born this season in junior running back Justice Haynes, who's rightfully been the focal point of the offense as Underwood continues to grow. The 6-foot-4, 228-pound Underwood completed 62.4 percent of his passes (tied for 12th in the Big Ten) through seven games for 1,440 yards and 7 touchdowns (tied 15th). None of that jumps off the page, but context is needed when analyzing the pass game. Underwood has seen 12.4 percent of his passes get dropped, according to PFF, the 17th-highest mark among FBS quarterbacks with 50-plus drop-backs. His adjusted completion per- centage is 74.6 percent, and 83.1 percent of his passes have been deemed "catchable" by Sports Info Solutions. Michigan's receiving corps has had some issues but is improving. Additionally, Underwood has covered up the warts on the offen- sive line, to a certain extent. He hasn't been as comfortable in the pocket as he otherwise would be, and hasn't been put in as many favorable situations due to spotty run blocking. If he wasn't such a good athlete, he'd have taken more than 8 sacks in seven games, and he's also been dynamic when using his legs, rushing 39 times for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns. The ball security while having an 7.9-yard average depth of target is impressive, with the Detroit native throwing only 2 picks, tied for the third-least among quarterbacks in the conference. He's also fum- bled once. Three turnovers in seven games — we'll take that, all day. The best part of Underwood's game is that he's already productive and so young — with loads of room to grow and a bright future. ❱ POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT ❰ HAS QB BRYCE UNDERWOOD MET EXPECTATIONS THIS YEAR? Spread the Word! Help Us Grow! For details, visit TheWolverineOnDemand.com/referrals NEW REFERRAL PROGRAM UNDERWOOD