Kyle Whittingham's Bryce Underwood Announcement Isn't Shocking as Michigan Seeks Turnaround

We were expecting some changes coming out of the bye, but Underwood wasn't one of them.

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During his Monday press conference, head coach Kyle Whittingham announced Bryce Underwood will remain Michigan's starting quarterback, and Jason Beck will continue to call the plays as the offensive coordinator.

The Wolverines have dropped back-to-back games and are sitting at 3-2 with a home game against Penn State this weekend. The Nittany Lions have dropped three in a row to put Penn State at 3-3 on the season.

After dropping the Minnesota game two Saturdays ago, many wondered if Underwood would keep his job, or if Michigan would turn to true freshman Tommy Carr. But Underwood is the Wolverines' man and will continue to start for the time being.

Tommy Carr did get reps with the 1s

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While Underwood will remain the starting quarterback for Michigan, fans might expect to see Carr in the game at some point against Penn State. Whittingham revealed on Monday that the true freshman did see half of the reps with the 1s during the bye week, but that was by design.

Whittingham said if he feels like Carr can help Michigan win games, he will go out there. But as of now, Underwood gives the Wolverines the best chance to win games.

As for Beck, he will continue to lead the charge as the playcaller, and Whittingham doesn't expect much personnel changes from the bye week. He had previously said that he wants to see Michigan get back to downhill running, and that the Wolverines wavered from that for too long.

The rhino is here to stay

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When Jason Beck talked about the rhino package this offseason, nobody really realized how much Michigan would utilize it. The rhino is used more than 20 times per game and the Wolverines aren't going to waver from it.

Whittingham said that they will still use the heavy personnel for the rest of the season, and he believes it gives Michigan an advantage from a physical standpoint. Through five games, it's hard to justify that, but we also haven't seen Michigan trying to run north-south as much.

Beck tried to use more horizontal runs and attacking the perimeter, but the Wolverines' personnel is more built for that downhill attack. It's possible the rhino package could serve better use if it's utilized the right way. Whether you want to see it or not — it's here to stay.

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