Joel Klatt dives into what we need to see from Bryce Underwood in Week 1 for Michigan

There is plenty of excitement surrounding Michigan this season. The main reason is that five-star freshman QB Bryce Underwood was named the starter for Week 1 against New Mexico. Underwood was the top-ranked recruit in the country last recruiting cycle and Michigan was able to flip him from LSU.

Fox's Joel Klatt recently touched on Underwood being named the starter in his latest podcast.

“That's right. Bryce Underwood is named the starter for Michigan as a true freshman, a program with obviously huge expectations, in particular after what we would all consider to be a bit of a down year, a rebuilding year, where they couldn't throw the football largely and now they needed to solve the quarterback position. This is exactly what the fan base was hoping was to see Underwood as a true freshman and that's what we will see," said Klatt.

"Couple of things I wanted to touch on in regards to this announcement from Sherrone Moore and that coaching staff. Obviously he was the number one recruit in the country and obviously he's going to be physically ready to go. Physically he is gifted enough to play this level of football right away."

Underwood isn't just a dangerous QB -- he can run. The Belleville product was labeled as a dual-threat gunslinger, but Klatt wants to see how quickly he can develop as a passer. In high school, the best athletes can run around and make plays -- it gets more challenging in college. This will be a good first game for Underwood to get his feet wet, as Michigan is a very large favorite.

"That's what we know. Okay, he's 6'4, he's 228. We know he's going to be elusive," said Klatt. "He's going to be able to run the football. So the question then becomes, alright, how quickly is he going to develop in terms of the acumen of the sport? Because the big jump that takes place from high school to college is this.

“If you're a great athlete, you can just use your athleticism to dominate at the high school level. Now that could eventually happen in college, but you've got to show some level of acumen in terms of development, in terms of controlling the game from the pocket, and more in particular, post snap. So early in this season, we're going to get to see that right away.

"Now, probably not going to, well, let's just face it, they're 35 point favorites against New Mexico. So what I'm saying is like, we're not going to know everything right away with Bryce Underwood. He beats out Mikey Keene, who's been injured and not really practiced, whether it was in the spring and even in fall camp, he was kind of sporadic.

"And so now Underwood will go out on Saturday, and he will face New Mexico as a 35 point favorite before the big test in Norman week two that night game against number 18 Oklahoma in a Brent Venable's defense. So what do we want to see if you're a Michigan fan? Week one from Bryce Underwood, we want to see the development of the forward pass from Michigan.”

Michigan has been a run-first team for quite awhile, but the Wolverines found the blueprint with J.J. McCarthy, who was an unselfish quarterback, who could throw the football when the team needed him. Klatt says Michigan has to hope it found the same thing here with Underwood -- someone who will be able to make plays when it's needed.

"But you've got to be able to throw. And that was the secret sauce with JJ McCarthy. We know that Michigan was tough and they were always a great running team before McCarthy developed into what we all thought was one of the preeminent quarterbacks in the country. But it was that. It was that element that elevated them to a place where they could go and win a national championship.

"And that's what a Michigan fan is hoping for. So what do you want to see week one against New Mexico? You want to see some semblance of a more balanced offense.

“You want to see his ability to throw the football and attack every blade of grass on the field. Is he making life difficult on the defense in front of them? He can do that with his athleticism, we know that.

"But he needs to do that with his arm. Remember, the only three teams that they threw the ball better than a year ago were the three service academies. So any improvement in this area is going to be a huge, huge aspect of why Michigan could potentially get right back into that upper echelon of the Big Ten Conference."

More Michigan News:

3 keys for Michigan football in Week 1 against New Mexico

Michigan football 2026 commit scores game-winning touchdown in HS opener

Advanced analytics predict every Michigan football game in 2025

Michigan Football: Six bold predictions for the Wolverines ahead of 2025 season

Predicting 2025 stats for several Michigan football offensive starters -- including Bryce Underwood