Michigan coach Whittingham on QB Bryce Underwood's 'tough situation'

Yahoo Sports3h ago21 min readOriginal source →

TL;DR

Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham discussed the importance of spring practices and the performance of QB Bryce Underwood during the spring game. Despite Underwood's struggles, Whittingham maintains confidence in him as the starting quarterback.

Key points

Kyle Whittingham is the new head coach of Michigan football.
The spring game focused on establishing depth rather than position battles.
Bryce Underwood is still considered QB1 despite a poor performance.
Whittingham highlighted the importance of the first 14 practices over the spring game.
Kerry Coombs is the new special teams coach.

Mentioned in this story

Kyle WhittinghamBryce UnderwoodKerry CoombsJake Butt

Michigan Wolverines

Fans got an opportunity to see a bit of what the new-look Michigan football team will look like last month in the annual spring game. But, unlike some previous iterations, where there wasn't a split squad, and there were more position battles up for grabs, this was more about establishing depth.

New Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham met up with former tight end and BTN broadcaster Jake Butt on The Blue Print podcast, where he shared that the 15th practice, otherwise known as the spring game, wasn't completely devoid of importance, but it pales in comparison to the 14 that preceded it.

"Well, it's all important, but the 14 practices are far more valuable," Whittingham said. "As far as when you were in our situation that we were in, we had a lot of things that we needed to accomplish this spring. Get two completely new schemes installed on both sides of the ball. In fact, special teams as well. Kerry Coombs, who is doing a fantastic job for us with special teams, got hired late in the season and really didn't have a chance to install all of his stuff.

"So the spring ball, we had a chance to put in schemes, both sides of the ball, and special teams. Needed to find out who our playmakers were, needed to make every single player in the program fundamentally and technique-wise. That's another big objective. And so in the spring game, it was more of just finding out in as game-like a situation as we could create, who's going to step up and make plays. So it had value, but far more intensity and just learning in the first 14."

Much, if not all, of the spring game discussion has centered on Bryce Underwood, who went 3-for-9 for 22 yards through the air, compared to Tommy Carr, who went 21-for-30 for 143 yards. While Carr's performance was admittedly much better than that of Underwood, Whittingham hasn't at all changed his stance that Underwood is QB1. Though he admits there's still a lot of work to do, he's pleased with the progress that his starting quarterback has made thus far, though there's much more that he will be adding to his table through summer and fall.

But the Michigan offense won't be predicated as much on how Underwood fits the scheme as much as how the staff can figure out what Underwood is best at and cater the scheme to him.

"Well, first of all, Bryce was thrown into a pretty tough situation last fall," Whittingham said. "True freshman, 18 years old, starting quarterback at not only a P4 program, but Michigan. I mean, you're under the spotlight. Also, didn't have a dedicated quarterback coach last year, from what I was told. And so he was a little rough around the edges, still is a little bit, but we had -- you talk about spring ball, but long before that, January, February, we're in the film room and talking him through mechanics and footwork and read progressions and all that -- continued through spring. He has made progress, still got a long ways to go, but he's on the right path.

Q&A

What did Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham say about Bryce Underwood's performance?

Whittingham acknowledged that Underwood's performance in the spring game was not strong, but he still considers him the starting quarterback and is pleased with his progress.

How did Bryce Underwood perform in the Michigan spring game?

Bryce Underwood completed 3 of 9 passes for 22 yards during the spring game, which was significantly less impressive compared to teammate Tommy Carr's performance.

What were the main objectives of Michigan's spring practices according to Whittingham?

Whittingham emphasized the need to install new schemes on both sides of the ball and identify playmakers during the spring practices.

Who is the new special teams coach for Michigan football?

Kerry Coombs is the new special teams coach for Michigan football, and he was hired late in the previous season.