Bryce Underwood’s future at Michigan looks cloudy after Kyle Whittingham made the move to Tommy Carr, and the latest quarterback shakeup only sharpened the question of whether Underwood will still be in Ann Arbor next season.
Carr’s second start came Monday in a 28-21 win over Rutgers, and he delivered a strong outing: 22-of-27 passing for 266 yards, plus 54 rushing yards and a touchdown. After that performance, Whittingham said Carr would be the starter moving forward for the “foreseeable future.”
What that means beyond this season is still unclear, and it will hinge on how Carr handles the final month. But if Underwood does enter the portal, there are several landing spots that stand out.
Ole Miss is one of the cleanest fits. Trinidad Chambliss is moving on after this season, leaving a vacancy, and offensive coordinator John David Becker has already shown he can work well with that kind of quarterback.
Underwood brings the kind of tools that can pop in the right system: he’s 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, has elite arm talent and can run 4.4/4.5. The Oklahoma game showed what he can do as a runner, and in a read-option setup, he could be dangerous.
In that kind of offense, he looks like the sort of player who could thrive. The appeal for Ole Miss is obvious too: a five-star talent at a bargain price.
Missouri may be the best stylistic match of all. Chip Lindsey’s name is part of the equation here, and the connection matters.
The decision would also depend on Austin Simmons, who is a senior but has a fifth year available if he wants it. Simmons has put up 16 touchdown passes and only two interceptions, and while he hasn’t offered much as a runner, pairing Underwood with Lindsey would be intriguing.
There’s familiarity there, and Lindsey’s best games with Underwood came when Sherrone Moore wasn’t coaching, which seemed to open things up. Simmons is probably back, but Underwood already proved he can handle being a backup without creating issues.
He may not want to sit, though that path worked for Dante Moore, who was trending toward being a top-five pick before his recent injury. A year on the sideline could give Underwood a reset, some seasoning and two seasons to show what he can do.
Kentucky belongs in the conversation too. The Wildcats don’t have the NIL warchest some other SEC teams do, but that may not matter here because Underwood has already cashed in on NIL.
At this point, the next move should be about development and preparing for the next level. He is not currently on track to be a draftable quarterback, so the trajectory needs to change, and Will Stein could help with that.
Stein coached Moore last season and helped get him talked about as the potential No. 1 overall pick. Kentucky also has Kenny Minchey playing at a high level, with 16 touchdown passes and one interception, and he has another year left, so Underwood might have to wait.
That said, it would be the same kind of setup that worked for Moore with the same coach.
Oregon is another possibility, and the Ducks have already shown they’re willing to take swings on former five-star quarterbacks. They’ve landed two through the transfer portal, so why not three?
Moore is out for the rest of this season, and it’s still uncertain whether he returns or heads to the NFL draft. Dylan Raiola’s future is also unsettled, since it’s not clear whether he can play well enough to lock down the job for next season.
If Moore leaves, Underwood and Raiola could end up competing for the starting role. Underwood is less polished as a passer, but he brings more juice as a runner, and that could even open the door to using both quarterbacks for a stretch.
Oregon also just fired its offensive coordinator, so that hire will matter a lot. If Moore returns and Raiola transfers, Underwood could end up following the same path Moore took.
USC rounds out the list. Jayden Maiava is a redshirt senior, so he doesn’t have another year left, and there isn’t a clear heir apparent waiting behind him.
The Trojans do have talent in the quarterback room, but Lincoln Riley has already shown he can maximize quarterbacks, including Jalen Hurts. Underwood would need to learn a new system, but Riley has a strong track record with dual-threat quarterbacks and would know how to use his skill set.
Underwood would also have three years of eligibility left, giving Riley a chance to bet on himself and on a quarterback with real upside.
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