Biff Poggi admiring Bryce Underwood’s transition to Big Ten football

LINCOLN, Neb. — After leading the Wolverines to their first Big Ten win of the season, it’s no mystery that the true freshman quarterback is making a statement to the rest of the conference.

Bryce Underwood is starting to spread his wings in Michigan’s offense, and continues to show poise beyond his years. After all, Underwood put the team on his back, and carried them to the finish line in the 30-27 victory at Nebraska. The 18-year old commanded the huddle, and handled himself like a seasoned veteran inside the Sea of Red, which didn’t surprise Interim Coach Biff Poggi.

From displaying good decisions with the football, to responding to adversity and making others around him better, Poggi is proud of Underwood’s coming-out-party. Most importantly, Poggi feels the young gunslinger is starting to crack the surface of his potential. And that speaks volumes, considering Underwood is a former five-star prospect.

In Poggi’s eyes, the best is yet to come for Underwood, as he builds off a promising performance against the Huskers. Poggi values what the young signal-caller brings to Michigan’s offense as a whole, and his production over the past two games is noteworthy, especially against an improved Nebraska team.

“We had some key drops, but he (Underwood) made some excellent throws, and he made some excellent runs,” Poggi said. “The things you don’t see is his poise and leadership in the huddle, and on the sideline.”

Unlike Underwood’s outing at Oklahoma in week two, when it seemed like he didn’t take many shots down the field, he was given more freedom at the line of scrimmage to operate against Nebraska, and made plays on the fly. One in particular was his 37-yard touchdown run towards the end of the first quarter, which gave the Wolverines a double-digit lead.

There’s no denying that Underwood has dangerous mobility, which added a different dimension to the offense, and he didn’t shy away from contact. He even orchestrated six scoring drives for the Wolverines, and they never trailed the entire afternoon. The Detroit native came up huge in the clutch when Michigan put together a 16-play, 77-yard scoring drive, that took nearly nine minutes off the clock, and basically sealed the game.

Poggi couldn’t believe that Underwood never panicked, nor did he make the fundamental mistakes that young quarterbacks normally do. Instead Underwood remained calm, even when the Huskers battled back and tied the game up at 17. It all showed mental toughness to Poggi.

“I’m not exaggerating, there was not a doubt in anyone’s mind on our sideline that thought at any point we wouldn’t win that game,” he said. “And he was a big part of that.”

Underwood completed 12 of his 22 passes for 105 yards. The 6-foot-4, 228-pounder also rushed for 61 yards, and averaged 7.6 per carry against the Blackshirts. After rushing for 175 yards, and scoring four total touchdowns over the past two games, it’s crystal clear that Underwood is ready to navigate the Wolverines through the Big Ten meat grinder.

He’s starting to live up to his five-star billing, and that encourages Poggi about the rest of the season. Even Underwood’s teammates like running back Justice Haynes is in awe of his maturation process, which shows that he has the respect in the locker room.

“Bryce is a tremendous kid, a hard working kid that has really stepped into his own as a leader, a vocal leader, and always comes in and leads by example with the way he works, and how he goes about his business.”