Michigan OC Chip Lindsey labels Bryce Underwood a 'football junkie'

Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey labeled freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood a “football junkie” and raved about the young man’s football IQ. For a five-star freshman that has a chance to start right away, that’s a good sign.

While the quarterback battle is ongoing between Underwood and senior transfer Mikey Keene, Underwood could be the star Michigan was searching for on offense. Especially if he develops the way Lindsey and head coach Sherrone Moore think he can.

The opener is less than a month away, so decisions will be made soon. Underwood certainly has a shot if he’s this intelligent football-wise already.

“Very, very advanced for his age, from the standpoint of, you know, I think he had good high school coaches,” Lindsey said. “I think he’s trained, you know, physically, obviously, he looks the part and all that. But really, I think the surprise for me, (his) football knowledge is really high for a 17 year old, high school kid that just got here. Pretty, pretty impressive. 

“Now, learning our terminology and why we call certain things certain things, and so forth, there’s been some learning process there. But the guy’s a football junkie, and really he’s here early and stays late and loves to study football, and it’s a good place to do that.”

Former Michigan quarterback Jack Tuttle shared a similar sentiment. Having been around some top quarterbacks during his playing days, Tuttle raved about Underwood.

“I would say it’s hard to measure that right now, because the sky’s the limit for that kid,” Tuttle said of Underwood’s potential. “When I saw him for the first time — I think it was January, February — throw the ball … I’ve seen quite a few QBs throw the ball. I’ve seen Trevor Lawrence — I was at The Opening like 50 years ago with him and [former Georgia and Ohio State quarterback] Justin Fields. I’ve seen all those guys … that was my class. 

“I’ve seen a lot of good football throwers, and I’ve been with Mike Penix at Indiana, obviously J.J. McCarthy here at Michigan. And I would say Bryce is at the top with the best of them, and probably throws it better than a lot of those guys — which is scary to say, to be honest, because he’s so young.”

As a member of the Class of 2025, Underwood was a five-star recruit out of Belleville (Mich.) High, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 1 quarterback in the class and the No. 1 overall prospect in the class.