So the backup who played and prepared better than the starter as far back as spring practice has become Michigan’s best option at quarterback.
My shocked face.
We should’ve all listened in the spring when new Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham laid the groundwork for this move, practically begging everyone to follow scraps of intel along the way to this very moment — with the Michigan season teetering and heralded starting quarterback Bryce Underwood struggling.
When I asked Whittingham this spring specifically about Underwood, he responded with “got a lot of talent” — and then proceeded to rave about a freshman 3-star legacy recruit named Tommy Carr.
“He’s got that ‘it’ factor,” Whittingham said. “Got a chance to be a really good player here.”
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Whittingham made a point to say Carr — barely three months into his college career — stayed in the film room long after everyone had left the building, including Whittingham. Hey kid, hit the lights when you leave.
So it should come as zero surprise Whittingham finally made the move last weekend, benching Underwood after another bad performance — and then watching Carr lead a second-half comeback victory over Penn State.
Whittingham isn’t announcing a starter for Saturday’s Indiana game because he wants the Hoosiers to prepare for both quarterbacks. And both still could play.
But it’s obvious where this is headed.
The same place it was in the spring when Whittingham knew who the best option was at quarterback, but couldn’t make a move.
Couldn’t tell deep-pocket boosters the 5-star quarterback they paid a reported $12 million for wasn’t cutting it. Couldn’t tell them the throwaway recruit who was initially recruited to Miami (Ohio) was the best quarterback on the roster.
At least not right out of the gate.
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You don’t go to the people who have done whatever you’ve wanted — even spending a couple million to reconfigure the best weight room in college or pro sports because it didn’t fit with the staff’s philosophy of training — and tell them you’ve made a bad investment.
Think the new guy is just going to walk into one of the three bluest of blue bloods in college football, see the team for 15 practices in the spring and say, by the way, that quarterback you spent $12 million on? Not going to happen.
The freshman backup who dreamed of playing here, the one you didn’t pay a private NIL dime for? That’s our guy.
That doesn’t happen in the real world, this does: The new guy walks in the joint and says, we’ll fix him. Until they can’t.
Until the season begins, and it’s the last play of the game against lowly Western Michigan and the Wolverines have seven stinking points. And it only gets worse from there.
Michigan is 105th in the nation in scoring offense, 125th in total offense, and with Underwood has scored 13 touchdowns — including five in four games against Power conference opponents.
Underwood is competing less than 50% of his passes against Power conference opponents, and has two touchdowns and five interceptions in those games.
The Michigan offense had 16 three-and-outs, and eight drives that ended in turnovers with Underwood at quarterback. Then Whittingham made the change against Penn State.
The Michigan second half offense under Carr: punt, touchdown, touchdown, three-and-out, punt, touchdown, end of game kneel.
Carr didn’t exactly light it up statistically, but Michigan scored more points with Carr in the second half against Penn State than it had in the three previous Power conference games this season.
“People say, ‘Well, you should’ve gone to Tommy sooner.’ No, I don’t think so,” Whittingham said Saturday. “I think that how this has unfolded has given Bryce an opportunity to prove himself.”
And yet another crumb of intel for all to follow.
It’s a lot easier to look at money people and say we gave Underwood an opportunity, than look at them before your first game and say we’re going with our guy — and, by the way, you blew $12 million.
Washington benched high-priced quarterback Demond Williams, and now Texas ― in the all hat, no cattle move of the season ― may give more first-team reps to backup KJ Lacey Jr., and take them away from struggling high-priced starter Arch Manning.
“I prepared every day for this moment,” Carr said after the Penn State game. “There were a lot of ways that it could’ve played out, but all I imagined was getting out there and getting the win.”
That’s all that counts. No matter how much — or how little — it costs.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan wasted millions on Bryce Underwood. Its best QB cost almost nothing | Opinion