Michigan needed a last-second Hail Mary just to beat Western Michigan at home. Bryce Underwood came as the consensus No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class and the top quarterback in the country, but his play has not lived up to that billing. Now, Urban Meyer says he has more intel than most on what Kyle Whittingham is thinking.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Michigan escaped with a 13-12 win over Western Michigan on September 5. Underwood finished 12-of-22 for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He added 47 rushing yards and a rushing score but also lost a fumble. The former No. 1 recruit did not look like he had taken the second-year jump many expected.
On The Triple Option podcast on September 7, Meyer was reacting to talk that Underwood could lose the starting job after one game.
“I obviously I have more intel than most because I’m very close with the Wolverine head coach,” Meyer said. “He expressed, first of all he loves Bryce Underwood. You know, there’s not a lot of times you’ll coach Mark, a player that’s just resisted the coaching, that’s just a pain in the a**. That is not what’s going on there. His issue is spatial awareness going through progressions and then executing, which is a normal progression for a young quarterback,” he added.
Meyer and Whittingham coached together at Utah in 2003-04 and have stayed close. That relationship gives these comments extra credibility. Underwood was 17 when he started as a true freshman. He is now a 19-year-old sophomore. The talent is not the main issue, but the development is.
“The problem is he was thrust into a starting environment last year, with chaos going all around him, which takes your breath away. Someone said he didn’t have a quarterback coach. Yeah, he doesn’t. Once again, there’s some never-heard-of. I never heard of that, especially when you pay a guy $7 million,” Meyer said.
“So, he’s got, and I’ve said this on Big Noon, God said, ‘I’m going to go make me a quarterback.’ And they look like Bryce Underwood, but there’s something missing,” he continued on the same show.
Last year Michigan dealt with NCAA sign-stealing penalties, Sherrone Moore’s midseason suspension, then Moore’s December firing and arrest. Underwood started all 13 games as a freshman without a dedicated quarterbacks coach. The new staff brought in Koy Detmer Jr. for that job.
Whittingham had already raised the stakes himself on September 7. “He’s our QB right now,” the coach said. “And it’s not something that’s infinite. At some point, we’ve got to turn a corner, and we’ve got to see improvement…”
He added that coaches must improve too and that nobody’s job is set in concrete. Whittingham is still listing Underwood as the starter. He is not promising the spot for the whole season. That warning matters because of who sits behind Underwood.
Tommy Carr is a true freshman and a Michigan legacy. He is the grandson of Lloyd Carr, brother of Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, and a local product from Saline. He beat out Colorado State transfer Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi for the backup job. Whittingham acknowledged that freshman Tommy Carr does get some first-team reps at practice too. And, so far Whittingham likes what he sees.
“Just continued what he was doing in spring. He was a good decision-maker, very poised. 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.
Carr is not a finished five-star prospect but a real option if the starter does not improve. Whittingham likes Underwood and sees a big future, but his first job this week is still winning. If Carr gives Michigan a better chance, Meyer believes Whittingham will play him.
“Um, everything you’re saying is dictated by something who’s behind him. It’s Tommy Carr. Coach Wit really loves his kids. Says he’s got an incredible future, but he’s also underdeveloped as far as just physically,” Meyer said.
Oklahoma is a much tougher defense than Western Michigan. Another night of missed reads and turnover-worthy throws would make Carr’s snaps a live question, because Whittingham has already left the door open.
The gap between high school and college is still the core issue. At Belleville High School, Underwood went 50-4 as a starter. He threw for 11,488 yards and 152 touchdowns, added 179 total scores, and won two state titles.
At Michigan in 2025, he passed for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions on 60.3% completion. He added 392 rushing yards and six scores for 2,820 total yards and 17 touchdowns.
Whittingham wants to see improvement now. The starting job is not locked, and Carr is the alternative. Oklahoma will show whether Underwood keeps the job the same way he earned it.