Bryce Underwood Learned the Pursuit of Greatness from His Parents, Joe Burrow and ‘Fixer Upper’

SI caught up with the Michigan quarterback ahead of his sophomore year.

Year one for Bryce Underwood wasn’t easy, but he showed flashes of what made him such a tantalizing prospect in high school in Belleville, Mich. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood has a hobby that would’ve been unthinkable for a college athlete just a decade ago: real estate.

“I used to grow up with my mom and watch real estate shows and things like that—Fixer Upper and things like that,” Underwood said. “Just taking a house from nothing to something, you know? From a mental aspect with that, it’s just, trust the process overall.”

It’s a lesson Underwood—who, along with Oregon’s Dante Moore, Ohio State’s Chris Henry Jr. and Texas’s Cam Coleman, sat down with Sports Illustrated on behalf of Celsius as one of the energy drink’s 2026 NIL athletes—will try to apply to a closely watched sophomore season. In 2025, he became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Wolverines in 16 years, while drawing what is believed to be one of college football’s most lucrative NIL compensation packages.

Results were mixed-to-positive—11 touchdowns through the air against nine interceptions with six scores on the ground—but pointed toward Underwood’s considerable potential. Only last Wednesday did Underwood turn 19.

“I just feel like there’s a lot of things I could have done better for my freshman season,” Underwood said. “How much of a mental toll it is during college football and everything like that—so that’s probably my welcome to [college] football moment, necessarily.”

A new regime for Michigan this season

On Dec. 10, the Wolverines fired coach Sherrone Moore under contentious circumstances, and replaced him 16 days later with longtime Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. Whittingham brought offensive coordinator Jason Beck—architect of the nation’s fourth-leading scoring offense in 2025—with him, and by March, Beck was pledging to build Michigan’s offense around Underwood’s skill set.

Whittingham’s other cultural contribution to the Wolverines? A more zen view of Michigan’s rivalry with Ohio State, which Underwood echoes.

“Every game, the goal is to be 1–0. We’re gonna prepare every single week for each game that we have,” Underwood said. “Being the best ‘us’ every single week—being 1–0 every single day of the week at practice, every single day at school ... 1–0 will push us to be the best we can be, in every aspect.”

Along those lines, Underwood worked with Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, a former Ohio State quarterback, this offseason, and walked away impressed with the three-time Pro Bowler and 2019 Heisman winner’s businesslike approach.

“Just to watch how calm he was, you know, that’s a couple things I took from him,” Underwood said. “A couple traits I took—just the calmness, the relaxation part of the game.”

For Underwood, home is where the heart is

The Wolverines have drawn players from the broader Detroit market since time immemorial—back Jim Craig, raised in Brush Park, was an All-American for Michigan in 1913, for instance.

However, there’s something special about being able to keep a player home in this day and age of national recruiting—special for the Wolverines, and special for Underwood after growing up in nearby Belleville, Mich.

“Being around the Ann Arbor area—the fans are diehard fans,” Underwood said. “You got to appreciate the fans for the start of it. ... I just feel like this home. I’m putting on for my home state of Michigan.”

In year two, it’s clear that Underwood has settled into college life. You might catch him ensconced at his recommended Ann Arbor restaurant, the Chop House on Main between Liberty and William (“I go there probably like once, twice a month”), and don’t expect him to lead his team the wrong way off the bus to start this season.

When the going gets tough for the Wolverines, he has a mantra at the ready to keep him looking forward—one he learned in childhood and has cultivated ever since.

“Good play, bad play, next play. I forgot who told me that,” Underwood said. “It was advice that’s sticking with me, now I really understand it.”

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