Former Utah player Eric Weddle's comments about Bryce Underwood have been sitting out there for weeks. Former Michigan quarterback David Cone finally addressed them directly on On3's Hard Count with J.D. Pickell.

"When you actually listen to the sound bite, and he says he can't throw the ball or play the quarterback position, that's extreme," Cone said on On3 Hard Count podcast. "I've already seen him as an 18-year-old kid go 9-3 until the very end of the year, not really turn the ball over...He could throw the football and has a lot of upside."

The reasoning behind Cone's pushback is simple. Weddle attended one spring practice. Cone watched every game. A full season of evidence says the picture is more complicated than one loud opinion from one afternoon on a practice field.

Cone also raised something that has largely been ignored. Weddle played for Kyle Whittingham, the former head coach at Utah. That connection is the only reason he got access to Michigan's spring practice.

"When you have a former player come in and have access the rest of the public doesn't have, to just blatantly come out and say 'your starting quarterback can't throw the ball on a podcast,' that was an interesting part too," Cone said on the On3 Hard Count podcast.

That's a fair question to raise. Access comes with some level of responsibility. Weddle didn't sneak into practice. He was invited.

“Mark my words, I was out there for spring ball. Don't be surprised if the backup is playing early because that Underwood kid, I don't think he could throw or play quarterback, so we'll see.” Weddle said on the Zero 2 Sixty podcast.

Cone also made clear what Underwood's mindset should be from here. He compared it to Tom Brady's approach as a sixth-round pick.

"He should have no goal other than being so good at playing quarterback that he makes anyone who doubted him look silly," Cone added.

Cone was also transparent that nobody really knows how good Underwood can be yet. He shared that Connor Stallions, who coached Underwood briefly in high school, described him as the hardest worker in the building and someone who absorbs film like very few he's ever been around.

Michigan’s receivers dropped 29 passes last season that could have changed Bryce Underwood’s numbers

One piece of context that rarely gets mentioned is how much Underwood's stats were affected by the players around him. Michigan's receivers dropped 29 passes in 2025.

Run that back with those as catches, and Underwood's completion percentage jumps from 60.3 to close to 69 percent, per Maize n Brew. That is a completely different story.

The room looks different heading into 2026. Andrew Marsh had zero drops last season and is the clear WR1. Texas transfer Jaime Ffrench and Utah transfer JJ Buchanan are coming in behind him.

Whittingham watched Underwood all spring and liked what he saw.

"His footwork is better, and he's been making better decisions," Whittingham said during spring practice. "Bryce is definitely taking steps forward."

Do you think Bryce Underwood will silence his critics with a big sophomore season? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore