Kyle Whittingham and Michigan have a blueprint for QB Bryce Underwood

Bryce Underwood has a ton of untapped potential as the quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines.

It's now up to head coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck to figure out how to unlock Underwood's potential and release him onto the rest of the Big Ten.

The base is there.

Underwood is a 6-foot-4, 228-pound quarterback who is an incredible athlete. He was the consensus No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2025 and there's no doubting the fact that he has superstar potential.

Unfortunately, he didn't reach it during his true freshman season and he even looked underwhelming at times. Underwood did throw for 2,428 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 392 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman.

The problem is that he also threw nine interceptions and his completion percentage of 60.3% was the 14th-worst amongst all qualified Big Ten quarterbacks.

So yes, Underwood has a lot to prove in 2026, especailly with a new head coach and coordinator calling the shots. Per Whittingham, the pair is comfortable with what they've seen from the sophomore, though.

"We as coaches, and in particular coach Jason Beck, our coordinator, feel very good about where he is," Whittingham said at Big Ten Media Days. "He's got some more things that we've got to work on, but he's cleaned up some of the footwork in the pocket. His read progressions, pocket presence. One thing about Bryce is he does a really good job throwing accurate balls on the move, so we've got to make sure we as coaches structure that in and change the launch point for him."