Bryce Underwood has spent the better part of eight months stacking work, and Michigan keeps liking what it sees.
With the Wolverines less than two weeks from opening against Western Michigan on Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m. on NBC, the quarterback has moved through winter workouts, spring practice, summer sessions with private QB coach Jordan Palmer and now fall camp as a newly named captain. That stretch has brought a steady stream of praise from inside the program, and this week the compliments kept coming from both sides of the ball.
Michigan cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford didn’t sound like someone trying to soften expectations.
"You know what? Night and day, night and day," Michigan cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford told reporters on Tuesday, Aug.
- "From spring ball to now, man, the last month, just starting fall camp, he's made so many amazing throws.
Like wild throws, had us in awe. He's doing stuff like that.
He's going to be all right.
"Knowing what our defense does to opposing quarterbacks, to see him make certain throws against us makes us pretty confident in that young man."
The development has been deliberate. Underwood now has a dedicated quarterbacks coach in Koy Detmer Jr., who followed offensive coordinator Jason Beck through four stops - Syracuse, New Mexico, Utah and now Michigan. Detmer said he and Palmer stayed in contact over the summer so they were aligned on the plan for Underwood.
Spring, Detmer said, was about getting the offense installed and making sure Underwood knew the playbook. Summer was about stripping away the mechanical habits he could get away with in high school because of his athletic edge.
That work has shown up in camp. Kyle Whittingham has recently praised the way Underwood has been stepping into throws and settling his feet, and Detmer said the quarterback took the offseason challenge seriously.
"Really challenged Bryce over the month of May and over the summer just to really put in the extra work, both with his footwork, pocket presence, and different things of that nature," Detmer said. "To his credit, man, he hit it head-on and worked his tail off, got a lot of really good work in May, really good work in the summer, and was able to carry that into camp."
What stands out most to Detmer now is comfort. He believes Underwood is increasingly at ease in the pocket and in Beck’s system, and he said the sophomore absorbed the offense at "a really fast pace."
That matters because Michigan is trying to build an attack that can threaten defenses in more than one way. Detmer said he thinks the Wolverines can push the ball downfield, pointing to a receiving group and tight ends he believes can help, along with backs who can keep the run game dangerous.
"I think we’re gonna be able to push the ball down the field, I really do," he said. "I think we have a talented group of receivers and tight ends around us. We obviously have the backs to be able to be a threat in the run game and open up stuff down the field, and Bryce can throw it around, and he can put it anywhere on the field.
“So I do think we’ll be able to push the ball down the field, but there will be some similarities to last year [at Utah with Devon Dampier], just because of the run game that we were able to have last year and the quarterback being a threat with both his arm and his legs.”
The other piece Detmer keeps coming back to is ball security. Last season at Utah, Dampier threw five interceptions in 13 games even though Pro Football Focus charted 10 "turnover worthy plays." Underwood, meanwhile, was intercepted nine times and had 12 passes graded that way.
Michigan has stressed not forcing the home run when the easy completion is there. Underwood brings the kind of arm, speed and athleticism that can stress a defense and extend plays, but Detmer said the key will be whether he makes the right choices once the games count.
“Having a guy that can hurt you with his arm and his legs, the decision-making is huge,” Detmer said. “Are you helping us make great decisions to help us move the ball, not put us in harm's way, and keep us out of those long third downs or are you going to be less efficient? Got to be a great decision-maker.”
Underwood’s freshman season showed the growing pains. He completed 60.3% of his passes for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Pro Football Focus said just 19 of his 55 throws that traveled at least 20 air yards were completed, a 34.5% clip.
Michigan, though, appears convinced the trajectory is pointing the right way as the opener approaches. The next test comes soon enough.
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