Who would have thought Bryce Underwood’s turnaround season would raise more concerns than ever? After taking Michigan to a 9-4 season, Underwood seemed like a perfect starter as a true freshman, but with some evident flaws. Now, the onus is on new head coach Kyle Whittingham to fix them up, but it looks like those inconsistencies are still there, and Whittingham’s former safety player is the one pointing them out loud.

“Mark my words, I was out there for a spring ball,” College Football Hall of Fame Eric Weddle said about Bryce Underwood on the Zero 2 Sixty podcast. “Don’t be surprised if the backup’s playing early because that Underwood kid, you know, I don’t think he could throw or play quarterback. So we’ll see.”

That warning from Weddle isn’t empty. The HoF’er watched Underwood struggle in person at Michigan’s spring game last month, where the freshman QB completed just 3 of 9 passes for 22 yards, showcasing the same rhythm problems he showed all season. Meanwhile, backup Tommy Carr threw for 143 yards, adding 59 rushing yards in the scrimmage, and looked comfortable. The contrast didn’t go unnoticed by 35,000 fans at the Big House.

The spring game gave Weddle a clear picture of why Underwood should not be starting in 2026. But his comments came at a sensitive moment for Michigan, as Weddle’s former coach, Kyle Whittingham, had been focused on developing Underwood into a complete quarterback who could lead the offense.

“It was very obvious that Bryce is a mega-talent,” Whittingham told ESPN in March. “He’s got so much ability, but he’s raw—as you would expect an 18-year-old starting quarterback at a Power 4 school to be. He was not a finished product, and that’s our job now to turn him into that.”

To make sure that happens, Whittingham even got a specific QB coach, Koy Detmer, whom the team lacked before. The team also retained key offensive players like Andrew Sprague, Blake Frazier, and Jake Guarnera on the team. They got a new offensive line coach, Jim Harding, onto the team, also, after they allowed 20 sacks last year.

But despite all of it, teams are failing to develop Underwood as a complete QB, and that’s where Eric Weddle is raising questions. He believes a lot of quarterbacks are picked because they are fast and athletic first, and only later are taught how to actually play the position properly. But they lack the process that is happening in Underwood’s case.

A real quarterback should be taught step by step from the basics. That includes:

• reading defenses quickly
• staying calm in the pocket
• using proper footwork
• throwing on time
• making smart decisions instead of just running
• And Underwood is clearly lacking all of it. He further adds how he uses all these techniques when he teaches QBs under him, especially his son Gaige Weddle, who plays at the QB position for the Broncos.

“So I have taught him from the ground up, from pocket awareness to timing to footwork,” Weddle said. “Like, all that stuff matters because, at the end of the day, your analyticism can only take over so much. You get to the next level. Everyone’s as fast as you; everyone’s as strong as you like. Your mind, processing, pocket awareness, feel, and getting the ball out on time are what I’ve stressed to him most as a quarterback. So you don’t see it.”

Underwood’s passing game remained his major concern last year. Against teams like Oklahoma, this inconsistency was clearly visible. Sometimes the offensive line gave him enough time to throw, but instead of staying in the pocket and making the pass, Underwood got nervous and ran out too quickly. So, to make sure that doesn’t happen, Whittingham is putting up a solid offense around him, but with Weddle’s concerns, it turns out there’s a lot of work still left to do.

Even ESPN is painting the same picture.

ESPN is raising concerns over Bryce Underwood’s future

ESPN believes Bryce Underwood has a lot of talent, but there are still questions about how much he will improve in the future. In a recent ESPN ranking, writer David Hale placed Underwood in a group called the “Christian Hackenberg Paradox.” This category includes young quarterbacks who looked very promising early in their careers but still have to prove they can keep improving.

The “Christian Hackenberg Paradox” is named after former Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg. He looked like a future star as a freshman and was later drafted into the NFL with high expectations. However, he never developed the way people expected and never played a regular-season NFL game. ESPN used his story as a warning that young quarterbacks must continue improving after a strong start.

The comparison hits hard. Hackenberg was the No. 1 recruit in 2011, threw 20 TDs as a Penn State freshman, got drafted by the Jets in the second round, and never played a regular-season NFL game. Hale’s tier includes only three QBs total, with Underwood’s 20% accuracy issue beyond the line of scrimmage ranking fourth-worst among returning Power 4 quarterbacks.

ESPN believes Bryce Underwood has a lot of talent and took Michigan to a 9-win season with his excellent skills. However, analysts also think there are still areas where he needs to get better. It pointed out that he missed about 20% of his throws, which means he needs to get better at accuracy. Something that Weddle also pointed out. It’s all about his overall development now.

Kyle Whittingham is trying his best to mold Underwood into a complete QB, but for now, it’s not translating on the field. With fall camp starting, this will be Underwood’s chance to show his skills ahead of the season.