Wolverine Thoughts: Michigan Must Ride 'Unflappable' Tommy Carr Through Highs, Lows

Nothing has gone to plan for Michigan in Year 1 under Kyle Whittingham. The Wolverines are 5-3 and Michigan has been in a one-score game in every contest this season, aside from Week 2 against UTEP. Despite showing signs of improvement against both Oklahoma and Iowa, the Jason Beck and Bryce Underwood marriage didn't come to fruition.

The Wolverines' offense continued to stall in recent weeks and Underwood was way too turnover-prone this season. Underwood was benched in the second half of the Penn State game in favor of true freshman Tommy Carr.

Carr sparked the Wolverines' offense, leading Michigan to 21 points in the final 30 minutes to beat the Nittany Lions 21-18. But in his first career start last week against Indiana, Carr made several freshman mistakes and turned the ball over twice himself in the Wolverines' 13-6 overtime loss.

Carr showed poise and moxy in win over Rutgers

Michigan Wolverines quarterback Tommy Carr — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was Carr's flu game. Well, not quite as heroic, but you get the idea. The Michigan product made his second-career start on Saturday against Rutgers and Carr suffered from flu-like symptoms leading up to the game. Kyle Whittingham noted that Carr hadn't missed any practice time, but "he wasn't feeling good at all".

That didn't stop Carr from running out there and helping Michigan score 28 points against the Scarlet Knights — the most points scored since Week 2 against UTEP. He threw for 266 yards and ran for 54 yards while recording three total touchdowns.

Michigan was 12-for-16 on third downs and Carr was the catalyst.

"Yeah, that's one of his strengths is he's unflappable," Whittingham said. "He never panics. He is very calm and collected no matter what the situation. And that's a great quality to have going back to his recent head. The moment's not too big for him. I think I said that last week. And it showed up to me this week. His pocket presence was outstanding.

"I thought he moved around well in the pocket. Kept his eyes downfield a bunch of the time to find some receivers. And tucked it in when he needed to. So a lot of good things by Tommy."

It's worth seeing what the future might hold

It's quite unfortunate that things haven't worked out for Bryce Underwood in Michigan. Underwood was the No.1 ranked prospect in the 2025 recruiting class and he was supposed to be the answer to Michigan's quarterback woes. Underwood is handling the demotion as well as you could ask, and he's been a great captain.

It's hard to say what Underwood's future with Michigan might look like, but there is one obvious guess — especially if Carr continues to play well. And as long as Jason Beck is at Michigan, running his scheme, Carr appears to be the answer.

He's going to have highs and lows. The game against Indiana proved that, and against a much weaker defense, Carr looked great. He underthrew two passes to Andrew Marsh, both could've been touchdown passes.

Michigan Wolverines wide receiver Andrew Marsh — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"A little under-thrown," Whittingham said of Carr's misses to Andrew Marsh. "Both those balls were a little under-thrown. If we'd have been right on the money, that's easy to say. He'll be right on the money with it. But if he was able to drop it out there where it needed to be, I think they both would have been touchdowns or at least huge gains.

"And so I'm not sure that is indicative of his arm strength. I think he'll see the ball just a hair quicker and a little more on it. He's got an arm that's very capable."

There are four games left in the 2026 season and the Wolverines' goals are essentially over. Could Michigan run the table and have an argument for the College Football Playoff? Sure. But what's the chances of that happening?

At this rate, Whittingham plans on being here for a while, even if the fanbase believes otherwise. Whittingham has never been married to Underwood, and Michigan is going to see what Carr can do down the stretch with four games left on the schedule. He's going to get his first taste of the rivalry against Michigan State next.

For being a young quarterback, he has great instinct and command of the huddle. His confidence is through the roof, and he gives you a chance to make plays with his arm or legs.

Rolling with Carr through the ups and downs might lead to a successful 2027 season if he proves he's the man for the job.

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