Michigan QB competition: ESPN's Pete Thamel reveals latest in Bryce Underwood, Mikey Keene battle

Despite the buzz around Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, the Wolverines haven’t named their QB1 yet. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel pulled back the curtain on Underwood’s status in Michigan’s quarterback room.

“The general expectation is that we will see Bryce Underwood at Michigan. Game one, snap one? I’m not sure,” Thamel said. “As the way things have unfolded there in this camp, I think that the expectation is he’s building toward being the starter for this season.

“For as much focus as there’s been on Arch Manning and how the hopes of Texas are pinned on him, I don’t know if there’s a quarterback in the country who has as much of the team on his back — certainly, there’s no true freshman quarterback in the country who is going to have as much on him as as Bryce Underwood. It’s gonna be fascinating to watch.”

Whoever lands the starting job for Michigan will face an immense amount of pressure. The Wolverines’ quarterback play was catastrophic last season, averaging just 129.1 passing yards per game, the fourth-least in the country. The only three teams with fewer passing yards per game were service academies.

In turn, Michigan has emphasized having a reliable quarterback this offseason. While Underwood is still competing with Mikey Keene, Jadyn Davis and Jake Garcia, he reportedly is edging closer to securing the coveted starting spot behind center.

It wouldn’t be easy to sideline a player like Underwood. He was the No. 1 overall player in the 2025 recruiting cycle and Michigan reportedly invested large amounts of NIL money to land the five-star prospect.

Nonetheless, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore isn’t in a rush to name a starting QB. On Tuesday, Moore weighed in on the widely-discussed quarterback competition.

“Quarterbacks have been great, much improved, playing at a really good level,” Moore said. “We’ll see where it goes and how far it goes into that, as far as naming a quarterback. I know you guys want to know who the quarterback is. I’ll tell you on game week, before any questions come on that.

“Whoever the starting quarterback is, [their responsibility] is to raise the level of the team… For [Underwood], for Jadyn Davis, for Jake Garcia, Mikey Keene — to make sure that they put themselves in position that they’re the best version of a quarterback they can be for Michigan football.”

Michigan will kick off its 2025 campaign against New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 30. The game will air live on NBC.