Bryce Underwood entering sophomore year with sense of urgency

CHICAGO — After an underachieving true freshman campaign with Michigan, the former five-star prospect is starting to understand his value to the offense, and how pressure creates diamonds.

Although Bryce Underwood led the Wolverines to nine wins last year, the quarterback feels like the team didn’t quite live up to the hype. After all, Michigan lost the final two games of the season, and a scandal cost Sherrone Moore his job as head coach. Underwood also struggled at times from the pocket, and finished 88th nationally in completion percentage, and 93rd in passing efficiency.

The Detroit native still has a sour taste in his mouth from dealing with the adversity, but realizes there are plenty of reasons to feel positive about changing the narrative. Coach Kyle Whittingham left Utah to replace Moore, and has impacted the team over the past eight months in ways Underwood never thought possible.

“Coach Whittingham, he’s a winner overall,” Underwood said. “So I feel like that’s a blessing to have, and being pushed every single day.”

There’s no denying that Whittingham is bringing  some stability back to the program, and Underwood admires the way he cares for his players. Spring ball helped the gunslinger polish his footwork and accuracy. Underwood only completed 12 of his 27 passes in the Maize & Blue Game, and got outshined by teammate Tommy Carr, but never thought that his job was in jeopardy.

Whittingham has helped Underwood see the field like a seasoned veteran, instead of a wide-eyed freshman, and that’s vital for an offense that’s full of youth.

“Overall I feel like leadership is the main thing,” he said. “What I love about my head coach is that he’s very aggressive, so we just have to showcase what we’ve worked at this offseason.”

Running the football will still be a priority for Michigan’s offense, and Underwood had 88 carries last season. The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder continues to impress Whittingham with his strong arm, and ability to make plays on the move. Which is why Whittingham intends on utilizing Underwood’s dual-threat capability like he did with Devon Dampier last year, and feels the best is yet to come for the offense.

“He (Underwood) has a very high ceiling, and I think he’s going to turn out to be a very successful quarterback at Michigan,” Whittingham said. “His work ethic is second to none, and he wants to be great as badly as any player I’ve ever been around.”

Michigan has a loaded backfield, which includes explosive rusher Jordan Marshall. He’ll help Underwood with the workload, and if both players can execute consistently, the play-action pass should open up downfield. Underwood is ready to silence whoever is criticizing his abilities as a passer, and isn’t afraid to use his body as a battering ram on the short-yardage situations either.

The Wolverines have a daunting schedule this fall, so they’re going to need Underwood at his best when they navigate through the Big Ten meat-grinder. Underwood should be able to spread his wings as a passer against an inferior Western Michigan squad in the opener. At end of the day, Underwood is willing to go the extra mile for the offense to be successful, and score touchdowns. So the more Whittingham trusts Underwood, the more freedom he will have to operate behind center.

“I feel like whatever the team needs, whether it’s me running or throwing, or handing the ball off, anything it is I’m going to execute that for this team.”