There is no Michigan QB debate after spring game, despite chatter

However, despite many of the issues that Underwood had a year ago resurfacing in the spring game (happy feet, throwing off his back foot, inaccuracy), that doesn't mean it's time to start looking for a change -- though it's unlikely many are actually serious about that impulse. After all, Whittingham has truly had Underwood for 15 practices, far fewer than that of his predecessor, working to undo damage done over the course of more than a calendar year.

Whittingham sees the improvement in Underwood in ways that fans weren't able to see on Saturday. And just because the mistakes weren't reversed doesn't mean he isn't on his way toward fixing them.

"He progressed all through spring. There's a lot of some things that may not be noticeable to just the general, his pocket presence. He's improved in all areas," Whittingham said. "Now he still has work to do. He knows that, we know that. But I think he's ahead of where he was, certainly, prior to or from last season, and we think he's got a big upside. There's still been a lot of confidence in him. There's no real different sentiment than what we had when we first got in here."

Back in 2017, which ended up being a terrible year for Michigan quarterbacking, similar aptitudes surfaced surrounding a similarly effervescent Brandon Peters, who came in and wowed compared to incumbent starter Wilton Speight and challenger John O'Korn. Despite Jim Harbaugh's insistence that it wasn't Peters' time as a redshirt freshman, the clamor for his services grew until injuries put Speight on the sideline, and haphazard play had done the same for O'Korn. The first outing, at home vs. Rutgers, made fans wonder if they were right -- even though the same sentiment was thought when O'Korn took over for the injured Speight against Purdue that same year. But Peters' ability was limited, and an injury vs. Wisconsin sidelined him, too. When he returned for the bowl game against South Carolina, the result was no different than those that preceded.

Much like was the case for any of that trio, what was witnessed in the spring game this year was the inability of the offensive line to pass protect. Every quarterback that took the field on Saturday was set to scramble nearly as soon as they had the ball in their hands. Carr, with much more time on task in the game at his disposal, certainly looked to make the most of his opportunity. But still, the offensive line is the culprit at the moment. If you look at other teams, like Ohio State late last year, even with Julian Sayin looking otherworldly for much of the year, the moment his offensive line faltered (and it did vs. Indiana and Miami), he likewise unraveled, suddenly appearing a pedestrian amid marathoners.

A split squad exacerbates offensive line issues singularly. Unlike other position groups, the offensive front requires familiarity and cohesion. The lack of play by one reflects on the whole. The same cannot be said of any other position group, though defensive back tends to be the closest, as one weakling can be repeatedly exposed. Certainly, the line is under the same guise as Underwood, having been tutored only for a handful of months, with still more than four before they'll actually be set, with the best the staff can muster out on the field against a real opponent.

"I think the O-line's gonna be fine," Whittingham said. "Once all is said and done, Jim Harding is a proven offensive line coach. He's been with me, produced a solid offensive line every single year. I don't think this year's gonna be any different. We had two or three guys who weren't very limited or out this spring. They're gonna be very prominent in the fall and pushing for starting jobs.

"And so I don't necessarily think, especially today, when you had to split up the line, half were on the ones, and half were on the twos. And so I don't have a big concern about it because I know Jim Harding's track record. I know the talent level of the players that we got there, the guys that are gonna be joining us coming off injury. And I think we're gonna be solid once we get into the season."

We've seen this to be true of Whittingham's lines. According to PFF, Utah had the eighth-best pass protection a year ago, and on Saturday, no side was working with the full complement of players who would likely be playing up front any given Saturday. Give Underwood some time, and he makes plays. Such was the case in games like at Northwestern. But it will be even more likely when he has his full complement of playmakers -- wide receivers Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan were on opposite teams, and barely available. Running backs Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter were both on the blue team, not on the same one as Marsh, tight end Hogan Hansen, and Salesi Moa. Blue also had three potential starters on the O-line (Andrew Babalola (injured), Evan Link, and Jake Guarnera), with only Link playing a fair amount of snaps. With both of these being the case, Underwood could only likely look worse than expectations, considering much (if not all) of his time in practice coming with the ones, whereas Carr has only known the benefit of playing with college players after coming straight out of high school -- no matter what he had at his disposal, it was an improvement.

Again, this isn't a case against Carr. If Saturday showed one thing, it's that Michigan likely now has two quarterbacks, with one starting now and another potentially poised for good things in the future. But for Underwood, to even start to write him off because of a mediocre performance in limited time, with a split squad, in a spring game, is nothing short of foolishness. If fall comes and he sees no improvement, then that would be the time to reassess, but certainly not now.

Yes, it would have been better to see Underwood go out in the spring game and sling the ball around the yard like he had when he was at Belleville. J.J. McCarthy may have had a better box score in the 2023 spring game, but he wasn't exactly lighting it up, either (7-for-10, 84 yards, one touchdown, and one interception). And that was with a roster that went on to win a national championship, not one that's rebuilding after an offseason (or more) of chaos. And McCarthy also had two years under his belt, with that roster, unlike Underwood, entering year two.

So some patience is required. It's rare to expect a second-year quarterback, no matter his station, to come out and look the savior in a spring game. It's even rarer for any quarterback to be one after a spring game. There is now a competent staff in Ann Arbor, and they saw the issues, the same as you. The good news is they have plenty of time to work them out, along with building out the complementary, so that Underwood will have every advantage at his disposal. If then he still can't figure it out? Well then, that would be the time for concern -- but certainly not after a spring game.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Is there a Michigan football QB debate after spring game?