Bryce Underwood’s freshman season was always going to be judged differently. He carried the weight of being one of the most hyped quarterback recruits in recent memory, and stepped into the starting job at Michigan almost immediately. There were some impressive flashes. There were also plenty of moments that reminded everyone just how young he was. Jordan Palmer saw both.
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“He spent a lot of time out here. And the more I learned about the scenario last year, the more I learned about what was going on there, the more I was impressed with how well he played as a true freshman,” the prominent QBs coach and former NFL QB, Jordan Palmer, said on August 18 on The Rich Eisen Show. “I’m looking at 17-year-old because that’s how he started the season with that pressure and expectation.”
Palmer is not evaluating Underwood from a distance. He has worked with some of the game’s biggest young QBs, including Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud, and has spent considerable time with Underwood during his preparation for 2026. He believes there is a lot more coming from Michigan’s sophomore quarterback.
“The biggest takeaway I have from Bryce Underwood is blown away by the professionalism, the work ethic, and the attention to detail,” Palmer said. “The physical traits are well documented. Everyone can see that in the opinions and the noise this offseason’s gotten. Nothing’s changed about that approach, and so I’m bullish.”
Underwood’s 2025 numbers show there was still plenty for him to work on. He completed 202 of 335 passes for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Some of his toughest moments came early in the season. Against Oklahoma, he completed just nine of 24 attempts for 142 yards. For a true freshman, those numbers were far from alarming, but they also showed why Palmer believes Underwood can take a big step forward in Year 2.
Bryce Underwood also didn’t have a dedicated QB coach this year, but will have Koy Detmer Jr. to coach him. Whittingham has already said the offense will be built around what Underwood does best, including his ability to hurt defenses with his legs. No wonder the noise around the Michigan QB1 has gotten even louder.
Underwood enters 2026 as a sophomore and one of the faces of the program. In the spring game this year, the QB didn’t justify his $12 million tag, which generated a lot of criticism. Kyle Whittingham limited him to just a single quarter. The QB completed just 3 of his 9 passes in that limited action. That gave Whittingham the task of developing Underwood, and the QB has progressed well.
A few days back, Kyle Whittingham himself graded his fall camp performances an “A plus.” Not just that, he also called his QB1 “further ahead” than his spring performances and commended his summer hard work.