Bryce Underwood Enters Pivotal Sophomore Season as Michigan Resets Expectations

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Batman mask never quite fit Bryce Underwood.

Underwood opened his locker one day last fall to find the mask, part of a running joke with Biff Poggi, then Michigan’s acting head coach. The superhero comparison stemmed from a victory over Central Michigan in which Underwood accounted for 349 yards and three touchdowns — arguably the high point of his freshman campaign.

“We need to do a DNA test on him,” Poggi told Big Ten Network, “because he could be Batman.”

Underwood found the mask unsettlingly realistic and wore it only once in public, at a costume party for patients at Mott Children’s Hospital. As his freshman season progressed, Underwood looked increasingly human and less like a hero swooping in to rescue Michigan’s offense.

This summer, amid rumblings regarding a disappointing spring, Underwood returned to the comic-book motif on Instagram, posting a drawing of himself looking in a mirror with the Joker’s reflection staring back.

“I’ve been a big fan of the Joker since I was young,” Underwood explained. “Everybody called me Batman last year, so I had to flip that a little bit.”

In comic-book terms, Underwood has entered his villain arc. The No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025 has absorbed hits from defenses and critics who no longer view him as a can’t-miss prospect. Sherrone Moore, the coach who went all in on Underwood, was fired, and Michigan is attempting to rebuild with a new head coach, a new offense, and a new cast of playmakers.

A year into his Michigan career, Underwood stands at a crossroads. One path leads to the success and stardom fans envisioned when he signed a $12 million name, image, and likeness deal to flip from LSU and stay home. The other leads into the unknown — the realm of reclamation projects and unrealized potential.

“I want to prove to myself that I am what I think I am,” Underwood said in June. “I feel like I’m the best player to ever come out of Michigan. Now it’s time for me to show it.”

Underwood made those remarks to a small group of reporters at his youth football camp at Saline High School, not far from his hometown of Belleville. It was a bold declaration from a quarterback who averaged 187 passing yards in 13 starts last season, though perhaps not as audacious as it initially sounded.

Underwood later clarified that he was referring to the state of Michigan, not the university. The relevant comparisons would be players like Tyrone Wheatley, Charles Rogers, Aidan Hutchinson, Braylon Edwards, and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore — still elite company, but not Tom Brady or Charles Woodson.

As the consensus No. 1 recruit in his class, Underwood has a case as the best high school prospect from Michigan in the era of internet recruiting rankings. He still has to validate that billing on the field, but his coaches took it as an encouraging sign that his confidence remained unshaken by an uneven freshman season.

“You want your quarterback to be confident,” coach Kyle Whittingham said. “If that’s his belief and feel, that’s great. I have no problem with that. It may be in his best interest not to put that pressure on himself in that way, but Bryce is a very confident young man.”

If Underwood were any other 18-year-old freshman, his 2025 season might be viewed in a different light. He led Michigan to nine wins and recorded seven starts in which he threw for at least 200 yards and completed more than 60 percent of his passes. However, he also failed to reach 100 passing yards in rivalry games against Michigan State and Ohio State, threw three interceptions against Texas in the Citrus Bowl, and went 9-for-24 in a Week 2 loss at Oklahoma.

Considering Underwood’s recruiting profile and massive NIL deal, his freshman season was mildly disappointing. Despite the uncertainty surrounding Moore’s firing, there was little indication that Underwood seriously considered leaving Michigan or that Michigan seriously considered moving on from him.

Whittingham has backed Underwood as Michigan’s starting quarterback since their first meeting in Orlando, Fla., before the Citrus Bowl. He maintained that stance despite Underwood’s rocky performance in the spring game and public criticism from Eric Weddle, a former NFL safety who starred for Whittingham at Utah.

Weddle visited practice in the spring with his son, a top 2028 prospect, and said he didn’t believe Underwood could “throw or play quarterback.” Though he didn’t address Weddle’s comments directly, Whittingham said Underwood has taken significant strides since the spring and gave his quarterback an “A-plus” grade when Big Ten Network visited earlier this week.

“We see Bryce every day,” Whittingham said. “We know where he’s at and where we need him to get, the time and effort he’s put in. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but we feel good about Bryce’s progress right now.”

Michigan went 9-4 as Bryce Underwood finished 12th in the Big Ten in pass efficiency rating last season. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)

Sticking together for 2026 made sense for both sides, in part because the quarterback market has caught up to the deal Underwood signed in 2024. It is unlikely Underwood would have commanded significantly more than $3 million per year at another school, and equally unlikely Michigan could have signed a quarterback of his caliber for significantly less.

If Underwood blossoms into an elite quarterback in 2026, his deal will look like a bargain. Should Michigan decide to go a different direction next season, Underwood is talented enough to still command a strong market in the transfer portal, where coveted quarterbacks typically earn $3 or $4 million.

For 2026, Whittingham is betting on offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. to develop Underwood’s considerable upside. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Underwood possesses a rare combination of size, speed, and arm strength but struggled with accuracy and pocket presence last season. Whittingham maintains those issues are correctable with cleaner mechanics from Underwood and better protection from his offensive line.

Michigan allowed pressure on 31.8 percent of dropbacks last season, according to TruMedia, ranking 72nd in the FBS. Evan Link and Blake Frazier, who took most of the snaps at left tackle, could move inside this season to make room for Andrew Babalola, the five-star prospect who missed last season with a knee injury. That lineup, alongside returning starters Jake Guarnera at center and Andrew Sprague at right tackle, should offer more depth and experience than Michigan fielded a year ago.

“In some personal conversations with him, he’s much more confident in the O-line right now than he ever was last year,” Whittingham said of Underwood. “That’s something that really helps his cause.”

Designed quarterback runs were not a significant part of Michigan’s offense under Moore and Jim Harbaugh. That is likely to change under Beck, who coordinated the No. 2 rushing offense in the FBS last year at Utah and the year prior at New Mexico.

Quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin accounted for 36 percent of Utah’s rushing attempts and 39 percent of its rushing yards last season. Underwood, Michigan’s third-leading rusher with 392 yards, accounted for 17.5 percent of Michigan’s rushing attempts and 14 percent of its rushing yards. An offense that utilizes Underwood’s athleticism and ability to throw on the run could better suit his strengths than the scheme Michigan deployed a year ago.

“If he and his people are OK with him running the football and being an athletic quarterback, he’ll probably have a lot of success,” a Power 4 offensive coordinator said as part of The Athletic’s QB Tiers. “Coach Beck does a great job with guys like that. If [Underwood] is like, ‘No, I’m gonna drop back 30 times a game, and I’m an NFL quarterback’ and all that, they might struggle with him because I don’t think that’s his game, especially right now.”

Underwood was a Tier 4 quarterback in The Athletic’s rankings, behind Big Ten starters Moore (Oregon) and Julian Sayin (Ohio State) in Tier 1, Jayden Maiava (USC) and Josh Hoover (Indiana) in Tier 2, and Demond Williams Jr. (Washington), Malik Washington (Maryland), Rocco Becht (Penn State), Nico Iamaleava (UCLA), and Drake Lindsey (Minnesota) in Tier 3.

That assessment reflects a reset of expectations for Underwood after he finished his freshman season with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. It is not unprecedented for elite quarterbacks to struggle in Year 1: Moore, one of this season’s Heisman Trophy favorites, posted identical touchdown and interception numbers while barely completing 50 percent of his passes as a freshman at UCLA.

In one version of this story, Underwood follows Moore’s trajectory and becomes the top-five pick he was projected to be. In another, he joins the long list of five-star prospects who flamed out as college quarterbacks. The conversation around him has shifted, but no amount of praise, criticism, hyperbole, or hype will outweigh what he does on the field.

“Game 1 is Sept. 5,” Underwood said. “I’ll let that speak.”

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