First-year Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham began spring practice Tuesday with a clear goal: Turn true sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood into a “completely finished product” and improve the Wolverines’ struggling passing game.
“It was very obvious that Bryce is a mega-talent,” Whittingham told ESPN. “He’s got so much ability, but he’s raw — as you would expect an 18-year-old starting quarterback at a Power 4 school to be. He was not a completely finished product, and that’s our job now to turn him into that.”
Whittingham, who stepped down at Utah after 21 years before being hired by the Wolverines in December, said one of the first things he did after taking the job was watch Michigan film and Underwood was “obviously the focal point.”
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Michigan’s passing game ranked No. 105 nationally last year and 127th nationally in total passing yards since the start of the 2024 season. Underwood, who was the No. 1 recruit in his class, surpassed 200 passing yards in five of his first seven games with only two interceptions before November. He threw seven interceptions, though, in his final five games, including three in the loss to Texas in the Citrus Bowl.
Whittingham said Underwood has been working with offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr., both whom came with Whittingham from Utah.
“It’s kind of a tag team approach with those two,” Whittingham said. “It’s just polishing up some things with Bryce, footwork things, some throwing motion nuances, and obviously teaching the scheme. Fortunately — and it’s one of the things that makes Jason such an outstanding coordinator, particularly in this day and age — he’s got a very user-friendly offense with not a steep learning curve.”
At 6-foot-4, 228 pounds, Underwood became just the fourth true freshman in school history to start at quarterback for the Wolverines, joining Rick Leach (1975), Chad Henne (2004) and Tate Forcier (2009). He started all 13 games last year, completing 202-of-335 pass attempts for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also ran 88 times for 392 yards with six touchdowns.
“He’s got the right mentality, the right work ethic,” Whittingham said. “He’s willing, he’s hungry — as is the whole football team. That was one of the things that was really positive when I got here — the willingness of this team and the hunger they had for structure and discipline and being pushed hard. We pushed it pretty hard this winter conditioning, and they answered the bell to everything we threw at them.”
