Joel Klatt defends Bryce Underwood after performance in loss to Oklahoma

Joel Klatt was impressed with the debut last weekend of Michigan QB Bryce Underwood. That didn’t change, besides some further evaluation after what was his second college game, based on what he did this weekend in their loss at Oklahoma.

Klatt broke down Underwood’s second collegiate performance against the Sooners during his show from Monday morning. He did so with an emphasis that, while the stat line didn’t look the best and that there’s still a lot of growth to happen in his game, Underwood played quite well as a true freshman in that spot in Norman.

“If you just look at his stat sheet, and a lot of people are just going to look at his stat sheet and are going to come away with that and say ‘Bryce Underwood didn’t play well, and he’s not this or that!’. That’s not the case,” Klatt said. “I actually thought Bryce played a lot better than his stat line. The film suggests that.”

“You will hear a lot of really poor analysis around the country this week that ‘Bryce Underwood is not who he says he is!’ and ‘He’s not the number one player!’ because everyone’s just going to look at the stat sheet, but the film suggests otherwise,” said Klatt. “Small tweaks, small development and it will be there, namely, like I said, pocket awareness and then the change of speeds. All that recognition will happen.”

In the 24-13 loss for No. 15 Michigan to No. 18 OU, Underwood was 9-24 (37.5%) for 142 passing yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. That includes being just 4/15 (26.7%) for 66 yards in the second half. That was the drop off as expected from game one to game two considering game two was a ranked matchup on the road against a quality defense for the top incoming freshman who just recently turned 18.

Still, actually watching the game and cutting on the film, Klatt wasn’t as down on it as some may have been, especially with his potential at his age. He had a couple of takeaways, many of which will just come in time with him, from this assessment of Underwood, namely his awareness and his opportunity to add more to his arsenal than just what he sees as a fastball right now.

“I want to be very clear. That does not mean he played perfect. There’s a ton of room for improvement for Bryce Underwood, namely his pocket awareness, his ability to change speeds on his throws,” Klatt said. “When you’ve got a young quarterback that has that type of physical ability and stature, a lot of times, they throw a fast ball every throw, alright. And, playing quarterback, you’ve got to have what I would consider to be pitch selection. What are you throwing? You’ve got to be able to drive the football and throw the fast ball. You’ve got to be able to layer the football, throw the football with touch in intermediate zones – very difficult to do but it’s a learned skill and something he’ll certainly develop. And then you’ve got to throw with touch down the field.”

“All of those areas are development issues, and Bryce tried to throw a lot of footballs, whether they were supposed to be layered or with touch down the field, and he threw fast balls, okay. So, his ability to change speeds, his pocket awareness? All of that is going to increase. His defensive recognition is going to increase.”

Box-score watchers might not think much of the freshman yet as, through two games, Underwood has posted 54.5% completion for 196.5 yards per game with one touchdown thrown. But, seeing it without just focusing on the actual production, Klatt has seen enough to think that he’ll eventually be one of the sport’s best players.

“I’m not concerned about Bryce Underwood. In fact, in a lot of ways, I thought he was their best offensive player on the field. And, as a true freshman, that’s pretty remarkable,” Klatt said. “He gave me very early vibes for some of the better quarterbacks that I’ve seen in college football, where I’m like, okay, I see it. There are glimpses where you’re like, oh my gosh, that’s tough to defend. He makes a couple of different decisions, whether if it’s in an RPO decision or a pitch selection decision, and big plays are going to be there.”

“And, as he gets better, I’m just telling you. I think Bryce Underwood is as advertised, regardless of stat line,” said Klatt.