ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham recently discussed quarterback Bryce Underwood’s development and commitment in a conversation with former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer.
In the interview, Whittingham broke some news to college football fans, revealing that the true freshman went an entire season without a quarterback coach.
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“From what I understand, there was no dedicated quarterback coach working with him on a daily basis, which has to happen. He’s a young man, 17 years old. He didn’t turn 18 till mid-season. He really could have been in high school last year, as far as his age,” Whittingham said.
Underwood is coming off a 41-27 loss to Arch Manning and his Texas Longhorns in the 80th edition of the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando on New Year’s Eve.
In the game, Underwood completed 23/42 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.
That performance capped off the former five-star recruit’s up-and-down 9-4 season, which was surrounded by mixed emotions from the Michigan faithful as he threw interceptions and missed some throws this season in big games.
Whittingham emphasized the work underway to refine Underwood’s fundamentals and technique.
“There’s some things in throwing mechanics and just things to smooth out in his fundamentals and technique, and we’ve already got a good start on that. Jason Beck and Koy Detmer Jr. are outstanding quarterback developers and coaches, so we’re already going down that path.”
He praised Underwood’s physical attributes and potential.
“Bryce Underwood’s got it all. He’s 6-foot-4 and 225-plus and has a cannon arm. He’s the whole package. We just got to get him refined,” Whittingham said.
Regarding Underwood’s decision to come back to Michigan, Whittingham said there was some initial hesitation.
“It was pretty much ‘let’s go.’ There was maybe a little hesitation until he got to know me and the rest of the staff, but once he got to know us, it was on a good trajectory from that point,” Whittingham said.
Whittingham noted that Underwood’s commitment announcement was a stabilizing factor for the program and helped with recruiting.
“He announced several days ago, and really helped our recruiting when he announced. It was a stabilizing factor for us,” Whittingham said.
Underwood started 13 games for the men in maize in 2025, completing 202/335 passes for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
He also toted the rock 88 times for 392 yards and six touchdowns on the ground during his freshman season with the Wolverines.
Although he struggled against Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, and Michigan State, he put on a highlight show against the Wisconsin Badgers, completing 19/28 passes for 270 yards and one passing touchdown.
Underwood showed signs of flash as he connected with wide receiver Donaven McCulley six times for 112 receiving yards and one touchdown.
He also started building a connection with fellow freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh, who broke out against the Northwestern Wildcats as he hauled in 12 receptions for 189 yards inside Wrigley Field.
There was speculation that the dismissal of former head coach Sherrone Moore would prompt many players to enter the transfer portal, but Whittingham made it clear he wanted to keep Underwood during his introductory press conference in Orlando.
“I already met with one player. You can probably guess who that was: our quarterback, Bryce Underwood. That was a great conversation. Spent about 45 minutes with him this morning,” Whittingham said.
Whittingham described the 45-minute conversation with Underwood.
“I did a lot of listening. I wanted to get feedback from him and get to know him — everything from growing up, family, what’s important to him,” Whittingham said.
It’s amazing that Underwood wasn’t coached by a QB specialist and still somehow led the men in maize to a 9-4 record.
Under this new regime, look for Underwood to take the next step as he has some weapons to throw to, including Marsh, Jaime Ffrench, Braydon Alford, and JJ Buchanan next season.