Michigan Football’s Bryce Underwood works with top QB coaches

The weight of the world was on Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood last season.

At 6-foot-4 and 228 pounds, there was no doubt that the 18-year-old who went 50-4 as a four-year starter in high school and won two state championships was extremely athletic with extraordinary arm strength when he arrived in Ann Arbor.

When the 2025 season finally arrived, the former No. 1 overall recruit, who earned $10.5 million in NIL money, didn’t look like a consistent top quarterback.

Underwood threw for 2,428 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He also threw nine interceptions while completing 60.3 percent of his passes. He rushed for 392 yards and six touchdowns, but had negative 131 yards and was sacked 21 times. There were some flashes of stardom sprinkled in, but the inconsistencies too often overshadowed the good, and now Underwood faces huge questions heading into his second season.

Luckily for Underwood, he’ll get a fresh start with a brand new coaching staff determined to get the best out of him.

Michigan hired former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham in the offseason, who brought with him an entire coaching staff from Utah State, including offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer. The duo is tasked with getting Underwood to a star level, similar to what they did with Utah QB Devon Dampier in Salt Lake City last season.

“It’s similar to what Jason did with Devon in New Mexico and then took him to Utah and refined him,” Whittingham told On3. “It’s a matter of seeing what he’s most comfortable with and obviously using Bryce in the run game. Now you have to be careful. He’s a very good runner, but it’s not sustainable to run him 15 or 20 times a game. That doesn’t work. So you have to pick your spot there. But he’s very good at extending plays and making a play when there’s not really one to make. But sometimes he tried it last year too. It’s hard to do that, and maybe there have been decisions.” who can do better, instead of just throwing the ball away and living to play next time. That’s where he needs to be better, and we think he will be.”

Working with a new coaching staff, Underwood has taken it upon himself to grow in every aspect of the game this offseason, saying fans have barely seen what he can do.

Once the Wolverines lost to Texas in the Citrus Bowl to end the season, it was reported that Underwood went on to work with renowned quarterback coach Jordan Palmer, who has trained the likes of Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Sam Darnold and is the younger brother of former No. 1 NFL draft pick Carson Palmer.

Underwood has reportedly flown to California to work with the QB coach, and Palmer has made multiple trips to Ann Arbor to get the rising sophomore in the best position for success.

“I’m impressed with the way Bryce approaches development and how he’s able to compartmentalize a lot of new things, a new staff, a new system and new players.” Palmer told On3. “He’s been a hero all his life, and last year was a tough year. So with all this new stuff, I’m very impressed, especially at his age. But honestly, if he was 27, I’d be impressed.”

Underwood and Whittingham know about the pressure placed on the young freshmen last season. He knew he wasn’t playing at the level he is capable of. It is also clear that Underwood was not put in positions to succeed as the team lacked multiple receiving options, had to shift the offensive line many times due to injuries and the team continually played from behind in Big Ten play.

Instead of making excuses, Underwood used last season as a learning experience and motivation to improve as a team.

“I guess I’ll take it as a test run,” Underwood said. “I knew I had a lot to learn and that there would be ups and downs. I’m just happy that the team welcomed me and helped me grow as a leader. Overall, I knew they believed in me, and that helped me never lose faith in what I was doing. I watched it as we were building together, and we will continue to build.”

Underwood has mainly worked on his decisiveness this season. In 2025, Underwood threw off his back foot too often and struggled to read defenses well. When Underwood was reading the defense, his receivers didn’t do him much favors by dropping the ball on a 5.50 percent clip.

According to research by Tom Fornelli of CBS Sportsthat made Underwood the second unluckiest quarterback in 2025. Although Underwood threw for 60.3 percent last year, if those passes had been caught he would have more than 66 percent of his throws.

If Underwood can put himself in a position to make an accurate throw more consistently, whether he’s retreating, climbing, advancing or throwing the ball on time, those numbers could easily drop from both an accuracy and speed standpoint if he doesn’t rush and put the ball into his receivers.

“The quick game is one of the most underrated parts of college offense, and all the guys who had Heisman-type years were really good at that,” Palmer said. “You have to take what the defense gives you. You can play all day. That’s fine. But you can’t win a championship just by making plays. You have to put the ball in play a lot. So that would be another part where I hope he sees Bryce’s growth.”

…Bryce is big, fast, strong and he is powerful. These are all figures that people know. But I’m very impressed with how quickly he can replace an old movement pattern with a new one, and that can be something drastic or something subtle.”

Underwood has a network of football experts dedicated to his success. The situation in year two should be different than in year one. He has multiple quarterback coaches. He has an offensive coordinator who has proven he can adapt to the college football offense. And he has a coach who recognizes that he needs to have a supporting cast around Underwood for the team to succeed.

Now, Underwood has just a few months left before he’ll return to the national stage to show the world what he’s done to get better. 2026 will be even more of a challenge than 2025, but better play at the quarterback position could go a long way toward making the team better as a whole.

“There was too much on Bryce last season,” running back Jordan Marshall said. “The teams knew we were going to run the ball. I think what we’re going to do on offense this season is give him the opportunity to be himself, to look at all the facets of his game, which is sitting back and throwing the ball and opening him up to run the ball from different looks. I mean, he’s a crazy athlete, and you don’t want to bottle that up. We have to be more dynamic on offense to help him. I always tell him, ‘Just be yourself. Go out there and be every time. yourself.’ some day.’ When he does that and has fun and is coached hard like he is, then you know you have something special.”