Michigan’s quarterback room is getting a very specific kind of reset, and Koy Detmer Jr. made the blueprint clear: the guy under center has to throw it well, take care of it, and be ready to make something happen when the play breaks down.
That matters in Ann Arbor because the last stretch hasn’t exactly been smooth. Since J.J.
McCarthy moved on after the 2023 national title, Michigan’s quarterback play has fallen short of what the program wanted. The Wolverines cycled through three different passers in 2024 before going back to Davis Warren to close out the season.
Last year, the spotlight shifted to five-star freshman Bryce Underwood, and the expectation was obvious. Instead, the season brought uneven results, with coaching and mechanics both cited as issues that led to multiple off games. Now, with Kyle Whittingham in charge, Underwood is expected to get the kind of instruction that wasn’t there before.
Detmer, who was Utah’s quarterbacks coach last season, arrived after working with dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier. He has been tied to Jason Beck for several years and has followed that path through Utah, New Mexico, and Syracuse. He also worked with Dampier over the last two seasons as both moved from New Mexico to Utah.
On Michigan’s X account, Detmer laid out exactly what he wants from the position.
"Some characteristics of the quarterback position that we're looking for, they got to be an excellent thrower with the football," Detmer said. "They got to be dependable with the football, a great decision maker, playing and play out.
We're asking a lot of them both pre-snap and post-snap, and they got to be a playmaker. At the end of the day, nothing's going to be perfect and they got to be ready to make a play and help everyone else around them be better.
"Dependable, balls in his hands every single play. We want to know that we can trust our quarterbacks with the football and taking care of it and helping us move the ball score points in the football games.
Underwood has become an easy target for media, fans, and opponents, especially after some of the things he said and the way he looked at times last season. He didn’t always resemble the No. 1 player in the 2025 class.
Still, he earned that ranking for a reason. The talent is there, and if the coaching and structure are consistent, he has a real chance to bring it out. Michigan also worked to help him on the perimeter, where dropped passes were a problem last season, by bringing in key transfers and freshmen.
The schedule won’t make anything easy, but Underwood is heading into his second season with a chance to show why he was so coveted in the first place. With Detmer and Jason Beck now in the mix, Michigan is banking on better quarterback play following a rough stretch.
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