Bryce Underwood’s offseason work has one of the nation’s most connected quarterback coaches sounding plenty optimistic.
Jordan Palmer, who has been training Michigan’s quarterback this summer alongside Koy Detmer Jr. and Jason Beck, said in a video breakdown that he came away impressed not just by Underwood’s arm talent, but by the way the 18-year-old has handled everything around him. Palmer went back through the tape from last season and came away believing Underwood was better than many people gave him credit for.
“I thought he actually played pretty well given the environment he was in and the circumstances,” Palmer said. “And so with the staff and dealing with some failure for the first time, dealing with negativity in the media for the first time, it's just been such a fun time to be able to come alongside him and help him navigate becoming a marquee college player down the road, become an NFL player, become a face of a franchise.
“But right now at 18 years old, it's as close as it gets to being the face of an NFL franchise. Michigan's as big a brand as any team in the NFL.
And so there's so many facets to go into it. And I think the thing that I am taking away outside of just the physical gifts that he has, which are maybe second to none -- strong statement -- is the buy-in, the attention to detail, the relentless pursuit of getting better at simple, boring things and doing the mundane things over and over again.
I have been blown away with his work ethic and buy-in at that age. I just can't think of another 18-year-old in that situation where I would say has handled it like the way that Bryce has.
“So that plus physical gifts, plus a lot of upgrades in the organization across the board, both in the huddle and in the staff meeting rooms, I'm bullish on what Bryce can do this year and the trajectory that his career is on right now.”
That kind of praise fits with the broader point Palmer kept making: Underwood should not be treated like a finished product after one season. Palmer pushed back on the idea that a quarterback’s early snapshot tells the whole story, and he used Josh Allen as the clearest example.
“At 18 years old, anybody who thinks that Josh Allen looked like that at 18 is tripping,” Palmer said. “That's not what he looked like at 18. And any of these famous guys playing today, there's some famous guys playing on Sundays who don't look like that now.”
Palmer also said his confidence in Underwood is tied to the new setup around him at Michigan. He referenced Kyle Whittingham, noting he has had overlap with him before and has seen the kind of structure that can help a quarterback develop into a finished player.
“I know what Michigan's getting with the staff from previous experience, more so than with the Michigan people who've been there are learning now, but I've seen it on the other end,” Palmer said. “The built, finished product that Kyle built at Utah, I've experienced that.
I spent years there. Now seeing what was possible, and I don't know.I think this is a very interesting time to be a Michigan fan.”
Underwood will get his next chance to show that progress on Saturday, when Michigan hosts Western Michigan at The Big House.
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