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Quarterback Bryce Underwood came into the Michigan Wolverines as the number one overall recruit in his class. Six-foot-four, 228 pounds, and the kind of arm talent Urban Meyer said if God could make a quarterback, it would look a lot like Underwood. Then year one happened, and the critics came out fast.
GBM Wolverine’s Chris Peterson pushed back on all of it in a piece published Sunday, July 19. His message was simple. Writing off Underwood right now is college football’s biggest mistake heading into 2026.
“Rival fans, and even some Michigan fans, are trying to write him off way too early,” Peterson wrote, per GBM Wolverine. “Heck, it feels like most of the college football world is writing off Underwood too early. Overlook him at your own risk.”
Michigan never gave Underwood a dedicated quarterbacks coach in 2025. Head coach Sherrone Moore was also fired at that time. He was 17 when he showed up on campus and got thrown straight into the starting role with barely any real support around him at 18 years and 11 days old.
And even in that situation, the numbers people keep using to write him off tell a different story than they think. Underwood completed 60.3 percent of his passes, threw for 2,428 yards, and added 392 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He averaged 216 total yards per game and accounted for 17 touchdowns.
Peterson compared that to the freshman seasons of Dante Moore and CJ Carr, two quarterbacks Michigan fans wish they had landed instead.
“Moore completed 53 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions,” Peterson wrote, per GBM Wolverine. “Carr didn’t even play. He sat on the bench and watched.”
Underwood outproduced both of them as a true freshman. That part of the conversation keeps getting left out.
The situation around Underwood in 2026 looks nothing like what he walked into last season. Kyle Whittingham hired Jason Beck as offensive coordinator and Koy Detmer Jr. as a dedicated quarterbacks coach the moment he arrived in Ann Arbor.
Jason Beck’s track record with dual-threat quarterbacks is what Michigan fans should be watching
Beck’s Utah offense last season was genuinely impressive. Fifth in the country in scoring at 41.3 points per game. Second nationally in rushing at 266.3 yards per game.
His quarterback, Devon Dampier, threw for 2,490 yards, 24 touchdowns, and five interceptions. On the ground, he added 835 yards and 10 more scores.
Whittingham spoke about how Beck plans to use Underwood differently.
“Coach Beck, our offensive coordinator, is a master at putting players in a position to succeed,” Whittingham said on the June 15 episode of the Big Ten Network podcast. “We will play to Bryce’s skill set. He’s a dual threat, without a doubt. We’ll have an offense that is geared toward what he does best.”
The blueprint is there. The staff is in place. Now it is on Underwood to prove the critics wrong.
What do you think about Underwood’s chances of a breakout sophomore season? Let us know in the comments.
Read more at Michigan Football Community.
