Michigan QB Bryce Underwood Dealt Christian Hackenberg Comparison Facing Major Questions

Former Penn State gunslinger Christian Hackenberg was also a highly touted gunslinger, but things didn't work out for him in the end.

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Michigan rising sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood was as heavily touted as any signal caller in recent memory. He was the top-rated player in the 2025 recruiting class, and every school wanted him to come play for them. The Wolverines ended up flipping Underwood from LSU, and there were major expectations placed upon the Belleville product.

The 2025 season was very up-and-down for Underwood. He was thrown into the fire as the starting quarterback in Week 1 and never truly looked comfortable. Between pressure on and off the field, dropped passes, and some miscues, Underwood ended up throwing for 11 touchdowns but had nine interceptions, as well.

Entering the 2026 season, Underwood is expected to make a big improvement under head coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive guru Jason Beck as the offensive coordinator. Underwood's legs are expected to be on full display this season, but there are lingering questions surrounding the Michigan quarterback.

Recently, ESPN's David Hale ranked all 138 FBS quarterbacks in tiers and Underwood, along with two other young signal callers, landed in Tier 5 labeled 'The Christian Hackenberg Paradox'.

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"Flashback to 2011, when Hackenberg, a 6-foot-4 archetype for a quarterback, earned Penn State's starting job as a true freshman and wowed, throwing 20 touchdown passes and announcing himself as a burgeoning star, a near certain first-round NFL draft pick...The point is, true freshmen putting up impressive seasons is a rarity and it often portends greatness. But not always," wrote Hale.

"And so Tier 5: Three highly regarded QBs who looked, at times, like elite players as true freshmen in 2025 but whose miscues left at least a little room for concern over their future development."

Deeper issues regarding Underwood's 2025 season

One interesting deep-dive stat that Hale used was that Underwood was off-target on 20% of his throws beyond the line of scrimmage in 2025. That was the fourth-worst among returning quarterbacks entering 2026.

Underwood did have physical issues. He often relied on his strong arm, fitting passes into tight space, and throwing off his back foot. That resulted in too many overthrows and it's something the new coaching staff has been working on — better footwork.

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But Underwood was pressured too many times, and that also caused the true freshman to have happy feet. To make matters worse, when Underwood did place the ball in a good spot, his playmakers dropped the ball.

According to data, Underwood was the second unluckiest quarterback in college football in 2025. Underwood had a difference in completion rate adjusted for drops of 5.50% last season. Meaning, Underwood threw for 60.3% last season, but if his playmakers caught the ball, it would've been over 66%.

There were 28 dropped passes last season, and Michigan brought in a bevy of wide receivers to help Underwood. JJ Buchanan, Jaime Ffrench, and Salesi Moa will make an immediate impact, along with the return of Andrew Marsh.

There is certainly questions surrounding Underwood heading into the 2026 season, and all eyes will be on the sophomore to see if he does indeed make a big leap.