Urban Meyer Not Ready to Buy Dave Portnoy’s Bryce Underwood Claim as Ex-OSU HC Sends Strong Message

While college football was busy dissecting how badly hyped Arch Manning’s debut turned out to be, or Thomas Castellanos’ statement win against Alabama. Another generational talent in Bryce Underwood, quietly passed 251 yards and started a whole new era in the QB room after JJ McCarthy for Michigan. Underwood doesn’t have a famous last name or Castellanos’s aura, but that $12 million tag means something. And if you ask Michigan loyal Dave Portnoy, the QB might just be the “best ever” to be around. And this kindled a soft war of words between Portnoy and OSU legend Urban Meyer in the press box.

When FOX Sports decided to put Dave Portnoy in that press box along with Urban Meyer, the promise of some tempers flaring wasn’t a far-fetched idea. And just like that, on September 6th ‘FOX Big Noon Kickoff’, that promise was fulfilled when Dave Portnoy analyzed Bryce Underwood’s New Mexico game performance and called him the best true freshman QB.

“They’re drooling about this guy, Bryce Underwood. They can’t believe what they see on tape. He’s like a supernova now. I hope they use his legs. He didn’t run at all last week. I think they were saving it for This Week. I think he may be the single best player freshman ever in college football,” said Portnoy. Moreover, the Barstool Sports founder also went on to predict Michigan to win comfortably against Oklahoma, courtesy of Underwood’s talent. But Urban Meyer, sitting in that press box along with other analysts like Mike Ingram II, quickly interjected on Dave Portnoy’s take.

“Ever, is a big word. But what I saw is what I saw, and I made a comment. I’ve had a couple of them, and that’s like a Percy Harvin or a (Tim) Tebow or Ezekiel Elliott. When you see that cat and you’re like, my gosh, I saw that last week. And I was against New Mexico. And there’s no doubt they told him not to run. There were a couple of times last week when he should have run. He didn’t,” declared Urban Meyer. Of course, Bryce Underwood didn’t run, but we still saw him scrambling in some crucial plays.

Apart from completing 21 of the 31 passes for 251 yards, setting a Michigan record for a true freshman QB in a debut game, Underwood’s performance showed consistency, elite game knowledge, and decision-making. “The kid just moves differently. He is what they say he is. He can move,” said Trey Pierce, Michigan’s defensive tackle. Moreover, despite Underwood not running, we saw his physicality when he threw a key block to New Mexico safety Austin Brawley for Justice Haynes’ 5-yard touchdown was a notable sign of his raw physical prowess. Still, the Oklahoma game won’t be a cakewalk for Michigan. 

Urban Meyer counters Dave Portnoy’s take by invoking Jeremiah Smith

Despite a dominant game by Michigan, Underwood’s passing accuracy was still at 67.7%, where we saw many passes underthrown or overthrown. That’s probably a sign of his true freshman inexperience, and that’s why the Oklahoma game is where the larger media sentiment for the 18-year-old would be decided. Moreover, according to Urban Meyer, Bryce Underwood isn’t the only true freshman impressing, as he countered Portnoy’s take further and compared him to the NFL’s Adrian Peterson’s collegiate career.

“When you say best ever, there’s that kid in Columbus, Jeremiah Smith, who was decent last year, but he was Adrian Peterson,” said Urban Meyer. Dave Portnoy, on the other hand, pointed to the jitters that Jeremiah Smith had against Texas to counter Meyer’s take. “ Yeah, he had a couple drops last week, no one’s counting,” declared Portnoy. Adrian Peterson, considered one of the greatest running backs ever, had a great freshman season with Oklahoma, rushing for 1,925 yards in 2004. Although he didn’t quite regress in the following seasons, the production did drop.

In the next year, in 2005, Peterson’s rushing production came down to 1,108 yards, while in 2006 it again dropped slightly to 1,012 yards. But does that mean Peterson regresses? Of course not. He was still the overall 7th pick in the 2007 NFL draft, and the rest is history. We are probably seeing the same with Jeremiah Smith after a 1,315-yard performance last year. In short, both Bryce Underwood and Jeremiah Smith are talented in their own right, and if Bryce Underwood can surpass what Smith did in his freshman year? Only time will tell!!