Michigan QB Coach Koy Detmer Jr. Shares What He's Working on With Bryce Underwood

Shockingly enough, former five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood never had a dedicated quarterback coach during his first year with Michigan. The former No. 1 overall recruit from the 2025 class was sort of on his own during Michigan's 9-4 season last year.

Sherrone Moore hired Chip Lindsey to run his offense, along with being the quarterbacks coach, but it never came to fruition the way it was supposed to. Now with Kyle Whittingham running the show, he not only brought over Jason Beck to run the offense, but he brought along Utah's quarterbacks coach, Koy Detmer Jr. to help Underwood.

Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) runs with the ball after breaking a tackle against the Texas Longhorns. — Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Under Beck and Detmer Jr., Utah quarterback Devon Dampier shined last year and was one of the more explosive signal callers in the Big 12 Conference. With Underwood's potential and ceiling, he could be in store for a big year with the guidance of a dedicated coach.

Recently, Detmer Jr. appeared on In the Trenches with Jon Jansen and he discussed what the Wolverines are working on with Underwood.

"Bryce is a kid that he holds himself to such a high standard, and he has big goals for himself," Detmer Jr. said. "And what I love about Bryce is the kid works his tail off. A lot of kids and a lot of players have high expectations or high goals for themselves, but maybe the actions or what they do on a day-to-day basis don’t align. And with Bryce, he shows that every single day. He wants to be so great.

"He wants to be such a good player, and he works his tail off to do so, both in the film study and then in the weight room, working, working really hard. For him, this spring, it’s just kind of sharpening up his toolbox, so to speak, whether it be with his feet or timing on certain throws and things like that.

"And so we’re spending a lot of time in the little bit that we get now to kind of work a little bit one-on-one with him after and before weights. That’s kind of what we’re working on. But the kid is super, super driven, and I’m in a position where I’m just super thankful to be able to work with him because he’s a talented young man, but the kid works his tail off to be who he wants to be."

Underwood's ceiling with Detmer Jr.

Recently, Underwood was tabbed as the No. 7 quarterback in the Big Ten entering 2026. He was behind Penn State's Rocco Becht and Washington's Demond Williams Jr. While Underwood didn't put up big stats last season, that should change this year.

Underwood was raw in 2025 and was essentially cast away to learn on his own. But that's not going to happen with Whittingham leading Michigan.

"You will become us. We will not become you," Whittingham said during his introductory press conference. The coaches are going to run the Wolverines as they see fit, and they are going to be hands on — which means no player will be left on his own.

Whether Underwood shows why he was ranked as the No. 1 player in the 2025 cycle is still to be determined, but we fully expect to see Michigan's passing offense look much more competent in 2026.