Michigan Wolverines offensive coordinator Jason Beck spoke with reporters on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions. Asked whether sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood is living up to expectations this season, Beck would not say yes.
Beck said,
“Nothing’s ever good enough, let alone when it’s not going great, right? You always want to play better. There are always things to improve, there are always things to do better.
The thing I’ll say with Bryce is he cares, and he works hard. It matters to him, and he’s feeling that outside noise and all that as much as anybody. He’s really handling that well with his approach and the teammate he is, so we’re always working to get better and improve.”
Whittingham Is Sticking With Bryce Underwood
Head coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday that he is sticking with Underwood at quarterback and with Beck calling the plays for the game against Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 17, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. “Jason will call plays and Bryce is our guy, and we’ll move forward,” Whittingham said. Underwood this season has completed 59.3% of his passes, 67 of 113, for 881 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions.
He has also rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 57 carries, an average of 3.7 yards per attempt. Michigan sits at 3-2, and 0-2 in the Big Ten, so it was not surprising that Whittingham decided to stick with the sophomore anyways despite his struggles. If Underwood continues to struggle, will Whittingham finally switch to freshman quarterback Tommy Carr?
Tommy Carr Is the Next Option
Carr was named the backup before the season opener, and he took roughly half of the first-team reps during the open week. His game work so far is two pass attempts, both completed, in the blowout win over UTEP.
Beck Praised the Effort, Not the Results
What Beck did offer Underwood on Wednesday was praise for the work, not for the play. The offensive coordinator said, “I way respect the kid he is and how hard he works and how much it matters to him. And we’ll just keep going from here to improve.”
He might be a hard worker, but the results are not necessarily showing on the field for him right now. If the results stay the same for the remainder of the season, Underwood’s future should no doubt be in question with the Wolverines also.