Michigan program not 'surprised' by Bryce Underwood, but Wolverines sure have fun watching him: 'Turned me up'

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan Wolverines football offense took the field first in a 34-17 win over New Mexico to open the season, and all eyes were on freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. Even U-M defenders couldn’t keep their eyes off of his first few snaps, wanting to get a glimpse.

Michigan’s first drive was cinematic. The Wolverines scored just over three minutes into the game. Underwood — the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class — completed 2 passes for 18 yards, before junior running back Justice Haynes took it 56 yards to pay dirt to start the season with a bang, and a 7-0 lead.

“The first play, I was on the sideline, I wasn’t even looking at the iPad or anything,” Michigan graduate EDGE TJ Guy said. “We were all on the sideline watching Bryce, and he was doing his thing. We were so proud.”

Defensive line coach Lou Esposito, meanwhile, was trying to wrangle his players back to the bench, where they’d get ready for the first defensive possession.

“No,” Esposito said when asked if he, too, watched the first series. “Well, I tried to keep our guys from watching him. But everybody did, and you could see it.”

Esposito has been impressed with Michigan’s freshman quarterback since he arrived on campus in December.

“I’ve watched a ton of him,” Esposito said. “I’ve watched every single day, from the minute that kid came here, he’s made one throw where you’re just like, ‘Did you just see that?’ So, it was pretty cool.

“And he’s one of the most humble football players I’ve ever met in my life, so I was excited to watch him go play. But I did not watch that first series.”

Whether live of afterward, everybody saw Underwood’s block on Haynes’ second touchdown run of the game, though, including the defensive players.

“That block, bro,” Guy said. “That shit turned me up, bro. That shit turned me up.”

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore has implored Underwood to not seek contact like that, but noted that the entire program loved the play.

“The whole defense saw it first,” Moore said. “The offensive guys that were on the sideline saw it, and then the guys that were in the game watched the replay.

“They’re like, ‘OK, this kid is completely bought into what this place is all about.’ They already thought he was, but now he did it in a first game, on a run, for it to be on third down, the ball rolls to the left, and he could easily just let the guy score and not do anything. But to find and seek contact, it kind of gives you the mindset of what we’re all about, and what he’s all about.”

The defense allowed 17 points, though 3 came on a short field after a fumble on special teams. But Michigan still won by three scores, and there wasn’t any drama at the end, because the offense showed the ability to be explosive and consistent.

“Definitely makes us feel good knowing we got a guy that can go out there and do what he can do,” Guy said. “We’ve got to get him the ball as much as we can, and keep it in his hands, for real.”

Underwood was stellar in his debut, completing 21 of his 31 passes for 251 yards and 1 touchdown, keeping the ball out of harm’s way. Michigan’s wide receivers loved it, too, along with the tight ends. Eight different receivers caught a pass, and five had 2-plus catches.

The high-level decision-making and ball placement were on full display. While pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy wasn’t surprised by anything he saw, he was pleased that Underwood performed the way he did.

“Yeah, amazing. Amazing,” Bellamy said. “Obviously, he’s a super talented kid — big arm, accurate, understanding what’s going on, super cerebral guy. Now, to say I’m surprised at how he did? No, I’m not surprised how he did; that’s why he’s the starting quarterback. But I was more excited for him to showcase what his skill set is.”

And the Michigan Wolverines are ecstatic they’ll see it the rest of the year and beyond, too.