Joel Klatt criticizes Michigan for Bryce Underwood’s lack of development as passer

The Michigan Wolverines have now won three games in a row and are still alive both in the Big Ten Championship race and the College Football Playoff race. There is a problem, though, for analyst Joel Klatt. That’s quarterback Bryce Underwood and his, seemingly, lack of development.

During a recent episode of The Joel Klatt Show, he took Michigan to task for Underwood’s development. In particular, for his skillset looking similar now to how it did at the beginning of the season.

“Now it comes down to Bryce Underwood continuing to develop.” Joel Klatt said. “They need to develop him as a passer. I have not seen the amount of development from Bryce Underwood as a passer as I’d like to see. His footwork is still poor. He still misses way too many passes high, partly because his arm angle is way too low. There are things that he has to do a lot better to become a really great college football quarterback.”

Bryce Underwood was a prized prospect coming out of high school and his flip from LSU to Michigan was heavily reported on at the time. A native of Belleville, Michigan, Underwood was a five-star recruit and was the top-ranked prospect overall in the Class of 2025. The raw talent has never been a question for Underwood. However, Klatt is concerned he’s relying on that instead of improving as a quarterback.

“Right now, he’s relying a lot on skill and on talent,” Klatt said. “And that’s only going to get you so far because there are things that you’ve got to do from an efficiency standpoint, from footwork, release, accuracy, and touch, that are what I would call constants. They have to be there, and those are things that he’s going to have to develop over the next few weeks, and, candidly, it still looks a lot like the first few games. So, I’m a bit surprised that I haven’t seen more development from Underwood.”

In Michigan’s most recent game, the Wolverines beat Purdue 21-16. It was a struggle at times for Bryce Underwood, though. He completed 13 of 22 pass attempts for 145 yards and an interception. He also rushed for 44 yards. This came a week after he completed just eight of 17 passes for 86 yards against Michigan State.

Underwood is completing 60.9 percent of his passes for 1,671 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions on the season. He’s also rushed for 272 yards and another four touchdowns on the ground.

“Obviously, the talent is there and just his physical ability,” Klatt said. “And, also, their ability and their maturation as an offense is far past where they were a year ago. A year ago, they were really poor on offense. They’re much better now. So, I’m nitpicking a little bit, but he needs to develop as a passer.”

Michigan is still alive for the CFP. However, another loss could be the death nail in that dream. So, the Wolverines will need to be focused in their final three games, starting with Northwestern following a bye week.