Michigan's Sherrone Moore, Bryce Underwood evaluate first six games: 'You see that flash'

ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines are 4-2, but most believe the arrow is still pointing upward due ot the progress of freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood.

The No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class has started all six games for the Wolverines, throwing for 1,210 yards with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions while completing 59.7% of his passes and adding 32 carries for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore was asked to evaluate his young signal-caller’s performance on Monday.

“Poise, his playmaking ability. You see that flash,” Moore told the media at Schembechler Hall. “You continue to see him get better and better. Put a little bit more on him this week in terms of RPOs and things that he was doing. And he did a good job making those decisions, and he’ll continue to do that. Just those little decisions.

“Even on that third down and nine, don’t take the sack. It keeps you in field goal range, and the interception is just an ill-advised throw he doesn’t need to make. So those things will come. And again, there’s a sixth game, but we’ll continue to help him and push him. And he’ll continue to push himself to make it better.”

Moore has also been impressed by the way the Michigan quarterback has handled pockets that are not always clean due to inconsistent pass protection.

“I think overall pretty well,” Moore said. “Even though he took the sack, the sacks are always better than throwing a turnover. So I think there are times where you want him to step up with the pocket, make those plays.

“But he’s also made some really, really good plays in the pocket and moved around and made some plays down the field that you didn’t think he would make. So I thought he’s done a good job with that, and we’ll just keep progressing with it.”

Underwood’s accuracy numbers are a bit misleading due to 14 drops in six games, but there have been times when throws have floated on him or he has missed targets. The focus is getting him to hone in a bit more on his footwork.

“Usually accuracy starts from the ground up, starts with your footwork,” Moore said. “So, I mean, really, in football in general, it all starts with your feet, and no difference with the quarterback. So it’s all about his footwork.”

Underwood weighs in on start at Michigan

Underwood also spoke to the media on Monday and took time to evaluate where his growth has come most through six games.

“Every week, I feel like I’m becoming a better leader,” Underwood said. “That’s one of my main goals, going into each game and just being more efficient in executing our play calling.

“… I would say being more vocal for my team because now I’m the starting quarterback. That’s what comes with being the starting quarterback — being a vocal leader during the game. … Just keeping our heads up throughout the entire game, trying to keep smiles on the guys’ faces so we can keep our heads on straight and know we can execute every single play.”

Underwood has high expectations for himself to eventually be one of the best to ever do it at any level of football. Making the move to college has been a big adjustment, but it is the type of stress he embraces on his path to potential greatness.

“Just reminding myself what the main goal and main attraction is for me, and that’s being a Hall of Famer in the NFL,” Underwood. “Just being myself and pushing myself to be that every single day.

“Like I said in previous meetings, it’s ‘blessed stress,’ as my mom calls it. It might be stressful, but it comes from being blessed and producing the way I have been. … Every single day, my goal is to be 1-0, winning every single day.

“I feel like if we win every single day, it’ll lead to that goal… I feel like every day we’re going to get better. That’s really it.”