Michigan Football QB Bryce Underwood Receives Best Report Yet

With three weeks of fall camp almost in the books, Bryce Underwood is coming along.

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Although it's only his second season with the program, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood is entering a pivotal season for the Wolverines. Coaching failed Underwood last season, but he's been an easy target for the media and opposing fans to attack.

Entering 2026, Kyle Whittingham has brought in all the coaching Underwood needs to succeed, along with adding several playmakers to the arsenal. Now, it's going to be up to the Belleville product to make plays on the football field.

On Friday, Whittingham gave the best report on Underwood yet. When we spoke with offensive coordinator Jason Beck, he had said that Underwood had 13 good practices — out of 13 total.

The head coach spoke about how Underwood has taken a firm grasp of the offense, along with showing poise in the pocket, and making the right reads.

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"Yeah, well, first of all, his grasp of the offense overall," Whittingham noted of where Underwood has improved. "I think that's the thing that is allowing him to play faster. And grasping the offense has allowed him to speed everything up. His clocking head is working faster. He's making really good decisions.

"He's taking good care of the football. And he has just been on an upward trajectory all fall camp. And has really started to come into his own. I don't want to get too ahead of things, because we still got two weeks before we play. And a lot of work to do between now and then. But he has been very positive. His progress has been very positive this fall camp."

Much improved footwork

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Last season, Underwood threw for 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. When facing tougher teams, Underwood was under a lot of duress. That led to him playing too fast and his footwork being all out of whack.

The gunslinger would often turn to bad habits, throwing off his back foot, which hardly ever led to good results. But three weeks into fall camp, Underwood has cleaned up the footwork issues that hindered him a season ago.

Will that change when the season begins, once he gets hit? That's to be determined, but the head coach is happy with what he's seen from his captain.

"Yeah, just his general footwork overall has definitely improved," Whitingham said. "Now, will it stay improved when things are live? And he hasn't been hit all fall camp, nor will he be hit until the first game. Hopefully, he doesn't get hit much in that game. But you can definitely see improvement.

"The biggest thing I see is stepping into his throws. He was a little skittish early on, throwing off the back foot and kind of leaning back. He's really doing a good job of climbing the pocket, stepping into his throws, and much better with his delivery mechanics, as well as his feet. And better decision making, like I said. And Jason's doing a really nice job of morphing the offense to what Bryce does best."

Fans can see Underwood in action on Sept. 5 when the Wolverines open up with Western Michigan.