Column: Nobody is forcing *you* to have a take on Michigan QB Bryce Underwood

Great article AB. And needed. Opinion: Michigan fans are nervous I’d say (whether they admit it or not) that Bryce is “the guy”. But there’s no legitimate faction of the fan base who doesn’t believe he will hit and hit big. All this negative stuff about Bryce is just being floated by jive turkeys and disgruntled Utah media/former players that we took their entire program from them

The logic in your column could honestly be applied to most of life today. Too many people rely on pundit opinions instead of using their own reasoning and critical thinking skills to form their own. One comment won't make or break the season. Just sit back and watch and be hopeful that one bad practice was an outlier, and that progression is the norm this season

AnthonyBroome said:

https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/nobody-is-forcing-you-to-have-a-take-on-michigan-qb-bryce-underwood/

Well, the Fort sure is getting him lots of publicity.

o_JJ_GoBlue said:

Great article AB. And needed. Opinion: Michigan fans are nervous I’d say (whether they admit it or not) that Bryce is “the guy”. But there’s no legitimate faction of the fan base who doesn’t believe he will hit and hit big. All this negative stuff about Bryce is just being floated by jive turkeys and disgruntled Utah media/former players that we took their entire program from them

At the end of the day, I think we all wanted last season to end by going, "Ok, he's the guy. Let's build this thing around." The end result was either cautious optimism or rampant pessimism. I don't think anyone with full confidence can say which direction it goes.

AnthonyBroome said:

At the end of the day, I think we all wanted last season to end by going, "Ok, he's the guy. Let's build this thing around." The end result was either cautious optimism or rampant pessimism. I don't think anyone with full confidence can say which direction it goes.

The betting money would be somewhere between those two points.

In some many phases of life today, there's no room for nuance. Everything is fully one thing or the other.

Good player in his day, but comes across as Stephen A Smith clone. Anyway, I’m glad he’s not our coach.

mark78 said:

In some many phases of life today, there's no room for nuance. Everything is fully one thing or the other.

It’s also a sign of times today. Lean on the hyperbole from someone to completely dismiss what may have otherwise been a responsible point of view.

Didn’t realize it was all on one practice. Doesn’t matter, he’s gonna be wrong (IMO).

AnthonyBroome said:

At the end of the day, I think we all wanted last season to end by going, "Ok, he's the guy. Let's build this thing around." The end result was either cautious optimism or rampant pessimism. I don't think anyone with full confidence can say which direction it goes.

Agreed completely. Doesn’t help when bitter Utah fans/players and our rivals are constantly pushing negative stuff about him without much substance.

AnthonyBroome said:

https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/nobody-is-forcing-you-to-have-a-take-on-michigan-qb-bryce-underwood/

You nailed it - you don't have to have an opinion on everything and you certainly don't have to broadcast it to the world. The problem is also that it is easy to leverage somebody else's name to make a name for yourself. I'm not saying that is Weddle is doing here for sure, but if I was looking to get my name out there I'd do it by picking on the starting QB at Michigan too.

AnthonyBroome said:

https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/nobody-is-forcing-you-to-have-a-take-on-michigan-qb-bryce-underwood/

Great article. Level-headed in a media culture where hot takes are now the norm.

AnthonyBroome said:

https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/nobody-is-forcing-you-to-have-a-take-on-michigan-qb-bryce-underwood/

You hit the nail on the head with what I find most frustrating in our current environment. There is no nuance in thought, everything is binary. If you think A, then obviously you have to think B. Thanks AB!

AnthonyBroome said:

https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/nobody-is-forcing-you-to-have-a-take-on-michigan-qb-bryce-underwood/

after all the chaos of last year with the head coach causing the most toxic of environments and no dedicated QB coach where should Bryce truly be? the fact that the team won 9 games despite the chaos tells me that the skys the limit for him and the team. If November rolls around and its chaos behind center then by all means its time for reevaluation but ill wait to hold judgement until a real coaching staff has had the opportunity to coach him up

o_JJ_GoBlue said:

Great article AB. And needed. Opinion: Michigan fans are nervous I’d say (whether they admit it or not) that Bryce is “the guy”. But there’s no legitimate faction of the fan base who doesn’t believe he will hit and hit big. All this negative stuff about Bryce is just being floated by jive turkeys and disgruntled Utah media/former players that we took their entire program from them

Haha love that you got a jive turkey quote in there.

I think it's wise to lean out on what Bryce didn't do and lean in on this new coaching staff - Jason Beck, OC, brings a heavy QB development background (Taysom Hill, Bryce Perkins, and Devon Dampier). Detmer is a co-developer alongside Beck. Off-season work with Jordan Palmer - who trained Joe Burrow and Josh Allen. He didn't have a QB coach, and the head coach didn't want him to run and get hurt. BU is getting the reset he deserves.

AnthonyBroome said:

https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/nobody-is-forcing-you-to-have-a-take-on-michigan-qb-bryce-underwood/

The young man is 18 years old -- people need to back the **** off and shut the hell up. Let the kid show his talent -- if it works out, great. If it doesn't, well then adjustments will be made, but this cheap seat examination of Bryce Underwood by old retired Utah football hags is the ultimate in silliness. Methinks there is an ulterior purpose and some sour grapes at play.

Let me see freshman quarterback went 9-4 with new offensive line. Mediocre at best receivers & two injured running backs. New head coach immersed in personal issues. Let’s see what happens with a year of experience, solid offensive line. Serviceable receivers & talented running backs & a scheme that fits his skill set.

danny7783 said:

Haha love that you got a jive turkey quote in there.

Couldn’t help myself

AnthonyBroome said:

https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/nobody-is-forcing-you-to-have-a-take-on-michigan-qb-bryce-underwood/

Great stuff AB.

o_JJ_GoBlue said:

Great article AB. And needed. Opinion: Michigan fans are nervous I’d say (whether they admit it or not) that Bryce is “the guy”. But there’s no legitimate faction of the fan base who doesn’t believe he will hit and hit big. All this negative stuff about Bryce is just being floated by jive turkeys and disgruntled Utah media/former players that we took their entire program from them

My point would be Michigan fans are nervous if (the OL didn’t improve in pass protection, the wide receiver room didn’t improve significantly, and the coaching improved across the board) Even a talent like Bryce wouldn’t have been able to make the above significantly better. Now that a talent like Bryce is surrounded by a better OL, better WR room, and much better coaching…we don’t need him to kill teams with stats and make perfect throws. We need him to lead the team. I’m way more optimistic than many are it seems. JJ McCarthy had 2 NFL tight ends, long tenured college receivers that were drafted in the NFL(Roman and CJ), and one of the best OL in football with Jim Harbaugh as head coach. Bryce had nowhere near that last year. He’s got a much better situation this year which makes me excited for him

AnthonyBroome said:

https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/nobody-is-forcing-you-to-have-a-take-on-michigan-qb-bryce-underwood/

Weddle played in the NFL, he has the credentials to comment on the QB play he saw in spring practice no matter how much spin everybody on this board wants to put on it. Even Devin Gardner is starting to have his doubts. It would not surprise me to see Carr playing more and more as the season goes on.

AnthonyBroome said:

https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-wolverines/news/nobody-is-forcing-you-to-have-a-take-on-michigan-qb-bryce-underwood/

I personally hope the staff helps develop Underwood and that he (and Michigan) kill it this year and silence the critics. With that being said, I think the paradigm has changed dramatically in the past couple years with the rise of NIL. You can no longer use the defense that they are just student athletes (which i think was a legitimate argument historically). I long for the college football landscape that existed before NIL, before the BIG expanded to include teams from Rutgers to Washington, before money got in the way of us playing Notre Dame every year.... but the genie is out of the bottle, or Pandora is out of the box You can't have athletes like Underwood making $3m a year, including as a freshman, and making themselves free agents annually and NOT expect criticism - and it sort of doesn't matter if you're a freshman or a senior. You play the field and go to the highest bidder, you better earn your money or take the criticism head on. $3m is $3m whether you're 19 or 22 years old.... $3m a year doesn't wait 3 years for development Hate that the "industry" has become this, but what other outcome should we have expected?

btw, i just looked at, and compared Underwood's FR year stats to Dante Moore's at UCLA - where he had an equally bad (if not worse) OL and minimal talent surrounding him - they are very similar to Underwood Completion % Underwood - 60.3% Moore - 53.5% TD Underwood - 11 Moore - 11 INT Underwood - 9 Moore - 9 Yards/Attempt Underwood - 7.2 Moore - 7.6 Yards/Completion Underwood - 12.0 Moore - 14.1 QB Rating Underwood - 126.6 Moore - 125.6 Moore then sat a year behind Dillon Gabriel and had a breakout RS SOPH year.....