Bryce Underwood landing spots: Colorado, FSU among top options if Michigan QB transfers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Bryce Underwood era in Ann Arbor appears to be over. During Michigan's 21-18 win over Penn State last week, Underwood was benched in favor of his backup, true freshman Tommy Carr.
Carr completed five passes for 47 yards, added 36 rushing yards and scored a touchdown. He is set to make his first start against No. 6 Indiana at home.
While Underwood has not indicated that he will transfer from Michigan, here's a look at the best landing spots for him if he does.
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Northwestern Wildcats
Underwood is from Detroit, Mich., so we'll start with a couple of Big Ten teams that make sense. How about a fresh start for Underwood at Northwestern? Under fourth-year head coach David Braun, the Wildcats are on pace for a huge season, sitting at 5-1 through six games.
Wildcats offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, yes, the former UCLA head coach and Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator, has Northwestern's offense rolling. The Wildcats are averaging 33.5 points per game, and quarterback Aidan Chiles is putting together the best season of his career. He's thrown for 1,398 yards with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions so far, including another seven rushing scores.
Chiles is out of eligibility next season, and Underwood could bring some Big Ten experience to a Northwestern team that will be looking to reload under center next year.
Michigan State Spartans
Speaking of Underwood's roots in the state of Michigan, he could stay close to home and head north up to East Lansing. MSU is struggling in Pat Fitzgerald's first season. The Spartans are currently riding a five-game losing streak that dates back to the Sept. 18 loss to Notre Dame.
Although Fitzgerald tapped sophomore Alessio Milivojevic for the starting job, but he is dealing with an injury ahead of the UCLA game this week. His backup, Cam Fancher is also out with an injury, so Fitzgerald could start true freshman Kaud Coffman on the road against the Bruins.
At 2-5, this feels like already a season where you tear everything down and start over next season, especially at quarterback. Fitzgerald getting Underwood could be a great way to start his Year Two off strong.
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LSU Tigers
I wrote about LSU being the No. 1 transfer portal destination for Texas' Arch Manning earlier this week. But I could see Lane Kiffin getting a couple of quarterbacks from the portal next year as an insurance policy, given how underwhelming Sam Leavitt has been so far.
Whoever ends up being LSU's starting quarterback next year, I could see Kiffin using Underwood as a running threat/wildcat option to add another wrinkle to his offense. Of course, Underwood was a longtime LSU commit before he flipped to Michigan in high school, but he was recruited by Brian Kelly's staff in Baton Rouge.
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Colorado Buffaloes
Speaking of Kiffin, if there's any other coach that utilizes the portal at the same level as him, it could be Colorado's Deion Sanders. The Buffs started sophomore Julian Lewis earlier this season, but switched to Utah transfer Isaac Wilson last week. Wilson nearly led the Buffs to an upset victory over the signal-caller's former team, falling 27-24.
It wouldn't be surprising to see Sanders reach out to Underwood this offseason. His staff offered Underwood coming out of high school, and Colorado was one of the few official visits he took during his recruiting process.
Bryce Underwood and Deion Sanders meet 🤝 pic.twitter.com/1D3vnjYvn4
— The D Zone (@TheD_Zone) September 16, 2023
Colorado could definitely be in-play for Underwood if he does decide to transfer.
Florida State Seminoles
Florida State will have to replace starter Ashton Daniels this offseason, as he will be out of eligibility after this season. There's no telling that his backups, sophomore Kevin Sperry or former Stony Brook and Iowa Western Community College quarterback Malachi Marshall will be in Tallahassee either.
Neither of them have the game experience that Underwood has, either. Norvell has also made habit of signing transfer portal quarterbacks the last few years, including Daniels, Thomas Castellanos from Boston College and Clemson's DJ Uiagalelei.
Underwood might fit Norvell's dual-threat quarterback prototype the best out of all of those guys. Assuming Norvell could be coaching to save his job (again) next season, allowing Underwood to start fresh with less pressure than his hometown school could be a perfect fit.
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