Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood struggled in the season opener of a 13-12 win over Western Michigan. Underwood had two costly turnovers — first an interception at the end of the first half that netted Western Michigan three points and then a fumble with 1:50 left in the game that led to another three points for WMU. While Michigan escaped defeat via a 47-yard Hail Mary touchdown from Underwood to JJ Buchanan, Underwood’s Week 1 play will cost Michigan in the future, with the competition only getting stiffer from here.
With Underwood’s struggles, Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham was asked about the strides backup quarterback Tommy Carr has made.
“Just continued what he was doing in spring. He was a good decision-maker, very poised,” Whittingham said on Monday. “Really is much more of an athletic runner than you would think just watching him. He can make you miss. He doesn’t have blazing speed, but he has the ability to make people miss.”
Whittingham said that Underwood receives 80% of the snaps in practice, while Carr receives 20% — a split that “is not out of the ordinary.” However, with Underwood showing no improvement since last season, could Carr’s practice snaps increase?
Whittingham has spoken glowingly of Carr this off-season. After Carr’s stellar spring game in which he was 21-for-30 for 143 passing yards with 59 rushing yards, Whittingham said that Carr had “the it-factor’, is a ”natural-born leader,” and has “all the things that you look for in a big-time quarterback.”
It’s hard to tell how close Michigan could be to making a quarterback change. Whittingham said he doesn’t want to put a timetable on one but has “to see progress” out of Underwood. If Underwood doesn’t perform better against Oklahoma on Saturday, it feels like a change to Carr could be close.
“Don’t want to panic. Don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Whittingham said about Underwood while also going on to say that “there does come a time for everybody at some point where you’ve got to look at an alternative if you’re not getting what you need.”
For Michigan, Carr would be the alternative. Carr beat out Colorado State transfer Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi for QB2 duties. Carr’s just a true freshman; Fowler-Nicolosi has 29 career stats — the fact that Carr beat him out shows he is developing at an accelerated pace. Carr is putting in the work on and off the field.
“He seems to be unflappable,” Whittingham explained. “Nothing really bothers the kid. He’s very calm and collected, and he’s a guy that’s very intelligent. He lives in the film room. There’s not a time I walk by that quarterback room — other than when he’s supposed to be in class, because we go to class. He studies film ad nauseam.”
You never know how a player will perform until the snaps start to count, and whenever Carr does see the field, the same can be said for him. Big Ten football isn’t easy for even the most talented freshman players. But for now, Underwood is still QB1, and he has a golden opportunity to squash any doubt after a head-scratching season opener. But if Carr has the it-factor like Whittingham says he does, he will see the field at some point as the starting quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines.