Bryce Underwood, the consensus five-star quarterback, cracked under the pressure of being the play-caller of the Michigan Wolverines. His hype did not translate into his rookie season, and new head coach Kyle Whittingham has called out the coaches responsible for him last year.

“First of all, Bryce was thrown into a pretty tough situation last fall,” Whittingham said on May 3. “A true freshman, 18 years old, starting quarterback, not only a P4 program, but Michigan. Also didn’t have a dedicated quarterback coach last year, from what I was told.”

In a conversation on the Blue Print podcast, Whittingham defended the quarterback for the anti-climactic season end. He even said that there is room for fine-tuning Underwood even after he took over Sherrone Moore. 

“And so he was a little rough around the edges, still is a little bit.”

The Wolverines navigated a turbulent season with their former head coach Moore. The 40-year-old’s tenure at Michigan met a troubling end. He made headlines for more reasons than one. Moore was under NCAA investigation for sign-stealing in the preseason, then self-imposed a two-game suspension. 

Moore was also caught up in misconduct and was subsequently charged and arrested after his dismissal. The Wolverines had fired him two days after a press conference on their upcoming Cheez-It Citrus Bowl appearance against Texas. The program eventually went 9-3 and 7-2 in the Big Ten. 

Such ups and downs related to his coach must have affected Underwood, who recorded 2,428 passing yards for 11 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions. 

Michigan has cut ties with Moore, but is still financially affected by him.

Sherrone Moore’s scandal to cost Michigan even more money

The University of Michigan released its latest two invoices to Jenner & Block. They paid $280,000 to the private law firm for their work in May. According to the Free Press, this brings the total cost of the more-than-six-month investigation to around $12 million. 

The former Michigan head coach was sentenced to 18 months of probation and fined just over $1,000 in April. 

“...For two misdemeanors stemming from an incident at the apartment of a staff member with whom he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship,” ESPN reported. 

In March, Moore had pleaded no contest to trespassing and malicious use of a telecommunications device “involving a domestic relationship in exchange for dropping more serious charges, including a felony,” the report said. 

The Wolverines, under a new coaching staff, are looking to improve from their record. Will Whittingham provide Underwood the right mentorship? 

Read more at the Michigan Football Community!

Written by

Akanksha Biradar