Michigan passer Bryce Underwood second-worst QB hurt by drops in 2025

When you play quarterback, there are some aspects of the position you can control, and plenty you can't. It's up to you to call the play, know the play, read the defense, and deliver the football on time to the right option. However, once the ball is out of your hand, the rest is up to fate and your intended target.

You can make the right choice, put the ball on target, and then watch your intended receiver straight drop the ball. Some players get luckier than others in this aspect, and while perusing social media, I saw a video and a tweet that inspired me to look a bit deeper into this idea. (...)

Here are the largest differences among qualified quarterbacks last season. It turns out that if you're looking for a wunderkind QB to buy stock in if they finally get teammates who can catch, it's not Arch Manning you should be looking at, but Michigan's Bryce Underwood. (...)

Underwood was ranked only behind Appalachian State QB AJ Swann. Had Underwood completed 5.5% more of his passes (which were on target), he would have completed 65.8% of his throws for an adjusted yardage (average, given it cannot be reliably ascertained) of 2,549 yards.

As Fornelli notes, there are QBs who didn't have this issue. Ohio State's Julian Sayin had the fewest drops (1.18%), while national champion Fernando Mendoza was right behind him (1.19%). The good news for Underwood is that the coaching staff oversaw the QB-WR combo at Utah, which only saw a drop percentage of 1.53% (Devon Dampier was fifth).

So while a big part of Underwood's success will require him to fix some of his ails (and he appears to be working on that diligently, training with NFL QB trainer Jordan Palmer), his receivers will need to be sure to come down with catchable balls.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan QB Bryce Underwood's stats impacted by drops