One Overreaction to Avoid During Michigan Football's Fall Camp

Fall camp is a time where optimism reigns supreme. Every player is in the best shape of their life. They’ve all added 15 pounds of muscle. They’ve all lost weight, or added weight in the necessary places.

Often times this leads to an exercise in hyperbole. There are plenty of reasons for optimism surrounding Michigan’s football program. There are also reasons for concern. It’s important to avoid the highs and lows that come with this point of the season, but what is the most important overreaction to avoid as football season draws closer?

The answer, as most things are in football, starts with the quarterback.

Yes, Bryce Underwood is the overreaction to avoid. Underwood was enlisted as the savior of the football program after the 2024 season was disastrous at the quarterback position.

Davis Warren, Alex Orji, and Jack Tuttle all tried, but none could even begin to fill the void that was left by JJ McCarthy’s departure to the NFL.

Michigan had arguably the worst quarterback room in the country in 2024, and things looked pretty bleak for 2025 when Underwood was still committed to LSU, despite living in Michigan’s back yard.

Underwood flipped his commitment after Michigan beat Ohio State to finish their regular season, and things were looking up for the 2025 version of the team.

Underwood Rides the Roller Coaster

You know what happened by now. Underwood went from savior, to martyr, to issue. Underwood is the only man still remaining from last season’s offense that ended in disastrous fashion. He had a rough spring where he was out performed by backup Tommy Carr leading to some discussion from the fanbase as to whether Underwood truly was the right man to lead the program into the future.

Kyle Whittingham has put that to bed almost instantly. He’s been steadfast in pointing out that Underwood is the guy, and he’s going to be the guy for the 2026 season.

Just as there would have been wisdom in exercising patience in 2025, that wisdom remains true in 2026.

Underwood is being paid a lot of money by the university to play quarterback. That much is true. It’s also true that it’s the system that we live in, and Underwood is simply playing by the rules that are placed in front of him.

Is it his fault he plays football in a time where college athletes are allowed to be legally paid? Of course not.

This is not like pro football where a hefty salary requires the player to do more for the team around him. There are expectations around Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen because of the salary they command.

Expectations

That’s not a fair expectation in college sports. Even if the athlete is paid, and college sports resemble pro sports more by the day, Underwood is still very young.

He turned 18 years old just days before his first collegiate game last year. He’ll turn 19 next week, and play the entirety of his sophomore season at that age. He’s a very young player. There are still some life experiences he has yet to go through.

Expecting Underwood to life the entire program on his broad shoulders, is unrealistic. It was unrealistic when he was a freshman. It’s still unrealistic as a sophomore.

Living and dying with every throw Underwood makes is not something anyone should be trying to do. The coaching staff likely had to break Underwood down to start from scratch after a season where he was left to his own devices for the majority of the time.

He did not learn to master the position overnight. He also didn’t become talentless over his first season.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic with Underwood. He was a top recruit for a reason. His talent shined through even through the rough patches a season ago.

It’s just important to avoid any overreaction when it comes to Michigan’s sophomore quarterback.

There is a position battle brewing in Ann Arbor to see who starts at edge alongside John Henry Daley. #Michigan RT Andrew Sprague said one of the edge rushers is the Wolverines' 'best pass rusher' on the team. 👀

STORY: https://t.co/FdadgQzUet pic.twitter.com/i7v3LoISnv
— Trent Knoop (@TrentKnoop) August 14, 2026

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