RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesThe offseason discussion surrounding Michigan football locally and nationally has been centered less on head coach Kyle Whittingham as much as it has been on quarterback Bryce Underwood. While usually first-time starting quarterbacks are given grace, and freshman signal callers even more, there has been an incredible amount of consternation, some of it bordering on disdain, foisted Underwood's way.
Rumors have swirled about whether or not he will improve or even if he'll be retained as Michigan's starting quarterback. However, appearing on the Rich Eisen Show on Monday, Whittingham himself asserted that no one is supplanting Underwood in his role.
"Well, Bryce is our guy," Whittingham said. "To be fair, he was a barely turned 18-year-old true freshman last year and thrust into the situation that he was, and even though there's a lot of room for improvement, still won nine ballgames and put up some decent numbers. We believe in Bryce, and he's got all the tools in the toolbox.
"He's 6-4, 230, runs like crazy, has a big arm. And so we feel like he's got a big upside and has made a ton of progress so far in the offseason. Fall camp will be important for him, obviously, as it is for everybody, but Bryce is our guy.
"Tommy Carr had an exceptional spring, and a true freshman, just should have been in high school. But he graduated early and really did some good things. So he was impressive, but going into the season, Bryce Underwood is our guy."
It was obvious that Underwood devolved a bit during his freshman campaign, with much of his fundamentals giving way to sheer improvisation. When Whittingham was hired, he said that he would immediately work to correct said fundamentals, yet, in the April spring game, none of that looked to be on display.
However, now Whittingham says it's starting to appear, and there are a lot of areas where Underwood is starting to make strides.
"Well, the mechanics, footwork, pocket presence, decision-making -- he's just tightening up his whole game," Whittingham said. "And that needs to continue. It's our job to put him in position to succeed and tailor things that to what he does best, and that's what we're paid to do as coaches."
Whittingham also wants to note that Underwood is young and otherwise wouldn't be in the position that he's in had he not been ahead of schedule. Another narrative had been that Underwood hasn't been willing to work, but Whittingham also refuted that, noting that he's working harder than anyone to be great.
"In fairness to Bryce, we talked about his youth," Whittingham said. "He also didn't have a dedicated quarterback coach last year. And so that was something that might have not allowed him to progress as much as he could have during that freshman year. And so we felt like we were getting a guy that almost was like straight out of high school, and so he's now up to speed. He's getting closer. He's getting closer, and I'll tell you one thing: there's nobody that wants to be great more so than Bryce Underwood. He does. He's a workaholic. He's in the film room constantly. He's out on the practice field by himself, throwing balls. He's working with Joe Burrow, guys around the country, trying to pick their brain and do everything he can to be the best player he can be."
Underwood will be in Chicago, along with Whittingham, Jordan Marshall, and Trey Pierce, for Big Ten media days on Thursday. Fall camp is set to begin on August 1.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham confirms Bryce Underwood is Michigan's guy
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