Why fans should be grateful QB Bryce Underwood came to Michigan in the first place

At halftime on Saturday at The Big House, Michigan head football coach Kyle Whittingham decided to replace sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood with true freshman Tommy Carr against Penn State. It wasn’t a shocking move, as the Wolverines were shutout in the first half and only mustered up 80 yards of total offense, including just 43 passing yards. Underwood also tossed two interceptions, and we all know at this point how Whittingham feels about turnovers (quite strongly).

With Carr in at quarterback, the Wolverines proceeded to beat Penn State, 21-18, to temporarily save a season that was going to be considered disastrous had they lost. It is hard to imagine Underwood gets his starting job back, as the things he struggled with had been building all season before Whittingham finally made the change.

But before fans fully celebrate the beginning of the Carr era, I think we should talk about Underwood today. Not Underwood the player, but Underwood the person.

When Carr scored his go-ahead rushing touchdown late in the game, the cameras caught something worth taking a second look at. Underwood ran directly to Carr before chest bumping him and dapping him up. You could see the genuine happiness that Underwood was feeling in that moment — at least I could.

Underwood was not sulking or doing anything that would label him as a bad teammate. If anything, he was the loudest and most enthusiastic person on the sideline celebrating the guy who had just taken his job. And judging by how Carr spoke in the postgame press conference, he seemed quite appreciative of that.

“Me and (Bryce) are good friends,” Carr said. “He’s gonna continue being a leader no matter what. He’s a captain on this team for a reason, so he’s gonna continue to be a leader for this team. And we’ll see whatever the coaches say, but I’m gonna continue doing what I’m doing.

“I didn’t really know him much until I got here, but he’s a great friend and we continue to build our relationship, and I’m sure he’ll continue to help me, and I’ll continue to help him improve.”

Whittingham also had nothing but praise for Underwood when asked about him on Monday.

“He’s a guy that — I’m a fan of Bryce Underwood,” Whittingham said. “He’s a great person, he’s got a great personality. He’s gonna go far in life no matter which path he takes. … He’s a very confident young man and has still got a lot of football ahead of him.

“He handled (being benched) as well as he possibly could have and as well as I’ve ever seen the starter that got replaced. He was supporting Tommy, he was thrilled when Tommy scored and he was helping him on the sideline talking through things that he saw on the previous possession.”

The way Underwood handled getting benched told you everything you need to know about who he is as a teammate and as a human being. And what makes it even more awesome is we aren’t just talking about any ordinary college football player — we are talking about a five-star quarterback coming out of high school that never had any major adversity up until this very moment. A lot of other high profile players like him wouldn’t act the way he has, so to see the way he handled all of that was really impressive to me.

And don’t forget, we are also talking about a guy who was voted a captain by his teammates. They did not vote for him to be a team captain for anything he ever did on the field — it had everything to do with how he is off the field. And on Saturday, in the hardest possible moment for him as a competitor, Underwood showed exactly why he has the “C” on his jersey.

What Underwood brought to Michigan

Now let’s talk about the bigger picture — NIL. Underwood signing with Michigan has played a major role in how prospective recruits and players in the transfer portal view Michigan as a college football destination.

When Underwood flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan in Dec. 2024, he was the No. 1 overall recruit in the country. That decision sent a message to the entire recruiting world that Michigan could land the most coveted recruits in the country. It also helped that the Wolverines shelled out top dollar for other guys in that class like Andrew Babalola (five-star), Andrew Marsh (four-star), Shamari Earls (four-star), Nate Marshall (four-star) and others to further entice Underwood to flip over to the Wolverines.

Champions Circle, the NIL partner of Michigan Athletics, played a massive role in Underwood’s commitment. Of course, Larry Ellison, Dave Portnoy and other high profile donors helped keep Underwood in the Mitten State, but the work of Michigan’s NIL collective cannot be undersold. The team effort of everyone involved, as well as the long-awaited green light being given by Warde Manuel regarding NIL, not only helped Michigan land the top overall recruit in the 2025 class, it also helped pave the way for how the university and its athletic department views and handles NIL with all of its sports.

The NIL infrastructure that commitment helped build is not something that goes away when/if Underwood leaves for another program. The recruiting credibility that comes from landing the No. 1 overall player also does not magically go away. And the precedent Michigan set by making Underwood the centerpiece of the team — and paying him what a potential program-altering quarterback would be asking for — changed how players/recruits, agents and families around the country think about Michigan. Just ask wide receiver Jaime Ffrench, who transferred from Texas to Michigan during the offseason.

Bottom line: Underwood’s decision to come to Michigan will be felt long after his playing days here are over.

Don’t get bitter, get better

I have seen some things written about Underwood on social media since Saturday, and it’s not surprising to say a vast majority of those things are cruel and unwarranted. Having the opinion Underwood is a bad football player is fine and dandy — hell, it’s your American right to voice your opinion on those sorts of things.

But anything that attacks Underwood and/or his family personally is disgusting, and I’ve seen plenty of that the last few days. Nobody should ever be personally attacked the way Underwood has been just because he wasn’t playing well. There are probably plenty of other people in this world that deserve those words, but Underwood isn’t among them. Not even close.

Underwood came to Michigan as the most hyped recruit in the country and had to carry enormous expectations from the very moment he arrived on campus. He has made plenty of mistakes on the field, and those things are completely fair to criticize considering how hyped up he was and all the talk that he manufacutred that he would win a Heisman and national titles — plural — before going to the NFL.

But the things people have written about him on the hellscape that is social media is a line that should never be crossed. So I have but one thing to say to those folks. As Jim Harbaugh once said: “Don’t get bitter. Get better.”

What comes next

The practical reality is Underwood will almost certainly enter the portal this offseason, should he not earn his starting job back this year (I can hear the laughing now…there’s always still a chance).

Should he enter the portal, Underwood has the physical tools that will make him attractive to a bunch of blue blood programs. Whatever issues he has had with decision-making and reading defenses at Michigan may very well resolve themselves in a different system with a fresh start, and I genuinely hope they do (as long as he isn’t going up against Michigan).

And why is that? Because despite everything that happened since he’s been here, Underwood deserves to have a good career. He came to Michigan when he did not have to and has given this program everything he’s got. When his moment of greatest personal adversity arrived on Saturday, he handled it with more grace and class than most people three times his age would have.

Michigan fans should not be sour about the Underwood era. They should be grateful it happened at all.