Bryce Underwood isn’t your typical freshman. The first-year Michigan football quarterback was the No. 1 player in the country as a recruit, and now he has half a season’s worth of experience.
He’s shown ability perhaps beyond what’s ever been seen by a Wolverines signal caller, and though not every play goes according to plan (Michigan has one of the highest wide receiver drop rates in the country, and the offensive line has intermittently done him any favors), but Underwood has shown he can make the right reads more often than not while putting the ball where it’s supposed to go.
And his offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey, is happy with where he’s at in this stage of development.
“Well, I think he’s played really well for a freshman, honestly,” Lindsey said. “Again, there’s a handful of plays in each game, and we all want it back. I don’t care if you’re him or you’re a four-year starter or whatever.
“But no, I think I’m really pleased with the progress he’s made. From where he was when he got here to now, that’s a big jump. And the best thing about him is he wants to be really good, and he’s always trying to improve and get better. You see him here all the time, staying early and late, trying to get extra film and stuff. So again, it’s just a maturation process of him getting more and more comfortable and being a first-year starter. And I think you see that around the country, whether you’re a freshman or you’re maybe in the third year in school, and now you’ve become the starter. I think there’s some growth there that they all make, but yeah, I like what he’s doing so far, for sure.”
One thing that Lindsey likes thus far is Underwood’s decision-making. Given that this is a major jump from what he faced at the high school level, it’s impressive what he’s been able to do week-by-week.
“Yeah, he’s doing great. I mean, there’s a couple — I think there’s five plays, six plays maybe,” Lindsey said. “The other night, he probably wished he had it back after watching the film with him. But for a guy his age and the experience he has, I think he’s pretty good.
“These defensive coordinators do a better job than ever of showing one look and getting to something else, that’s just something you gotta deal with. And it comes with experience. But yeah, no, I thought he did a lot of really good things. I mean, the turnover, obviously, in the red zone, something that really sticks out, taking the sack. We weren’t quite in the red zone on both, but we were in the score zone, which is right outside of that. With our kicker, we can’t make those mistakes. And he understands that, we’ll clean that up. But no, I thought he was really good, other than a few things here and there.”
The Wolverines aren’t staying static when it comes to the palette that they’re offering Underwood. His menu is growing as he continues to understand the game, and even though teams are doing what they can to stall him out each week, Lindsey sees continual growth from his quarterback.
And with that, he feels like by season’s end, he could be truly special.
“Some of the RPO stuff, I think he pulled through the other night because the look was for that, which is good,” Lindsey said. “And some teams play those, obviously, everybody plays them a little different. But yeah, I definitely think so. I think as we get more and more advanced and the season keeps going, I hope — hopefully, we’ll have some more opportunities for those guys.”
Underwood’s next chance to improve will come on Saturday with a 5-1 Washington team coming to The Big House. The game will be on Fox with a 12:10 p.m. EDT kickoff.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Chip Lindsey praises Bryce Underwood’s growth as Michigan’s QB
