Chip Lindsey on Michigan QB Bryce Underwood's strong start: 'He's played really well for a freshman'

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines football freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood had a strong first half of the regular season as the starting signal-caller, leading his team to a 4-2 record.

The 6-foot-4, 228-pound Underwood’s completion percentage (59.7), however, ranks 18th in the Big Ten, and he’s tied 16th with only 5 touchdown passes, raising some questions for offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey at his press conference Wednesday.

“I don’t really think about those things [completion percentage and touchdown passes ranking within the Big Ten],” Lindsey said. “We’re trying to win the football games and put us in the best position. There are things that we can do better to do that, if we just execute a little better. And then maybe sometimes, too, as a coach, you have to think about, are we putting our guys in the best position? That’s definitely fair for someone to ask, and I think we’re continuing to work through those things.

“But, at the end of the day, every time you call a play, you have a plan for where the ball should go, and we have to make sure we do that. We have to make sure when we get the opportunity, we catch it, we protect. I mean, it’s a lot of things — not just one person or one guy. But, at the end of the day, our job is to score points, and we haven’t done a good enough job of that in a couple games, for sure. That’s what we’re striving to do.”

Lindsey is correct that it’s not all Underwood. For example, 13.2 percent of his passes have been dropped, according to PFF, the second-highest rate among Big Ten quarterbacks. His adjusted completion percentage is 72.6 — 15th in the conference but only 2 percentage points from ranking middle of the pack at 10th.

 “I think he’s played really well for a freshman, honestly,” the Michigan coordinator said. “Again, there are a handful of plays in each game that we all want back — I don’t care if you’re him or you’re a four-year starter or whatever.

“But I’m really pleased with the progress he’s made. From where he was from when he got here to now, that’s a big jump. The best thing about him is he wants to be really good, and he always wants to try to improve and keep getting better. You see him here all the time, staying early and late, trying to get extra film and stuff.

“It’s just a maturation process of him getting more and more comfortable being a first-year starter. And I think you see that around the country, whether you’re a freshman or you’re maybe the third year in school and now you’ve become the starter. I think there’s some growth there that they all make. But I like what he’s doing so far, for sure.”

According to Sports Info Solutions, 81.4 percent of Underwood’s throws have been ‘catchable,’ ranking 16th in the Big Ten. There have been some inaccurate throws, of course — no quarterback is void of those — and some of them have been caused by sloppy footwork.

“His footwork the other night, I think he got loose in the pocket twice,” Lindsey explained. “The week before, maybe another time.

“Some of that, I think, as a young guy, sometimes feeling the rush or thinking you’re getting certain pressures does that. But that’s something we’re working on every day. But it’s not something that’s a total issue. You’ve got to remember, too, that in practice, those guys don’t get hit. Everything’s good in practice — footwork’s good, drop’s good.

“But as far as the type of drop he took the other night, whether it was quick game, intermediate or dropback, they were all good. It’s just we’ve got to continue to work on pocket presence, which I think some of that comes with experience.”

Reading coverages and going through progressions

Michigan has been helping Underwood develop reading coverages and going through his progressions — and Lindsey is pleased with where he’s at.

 “Yeah, he’s doing great,” the Michigan coach noted. “There were five, six plays maybe that he wished he had back [from the USC game], after watching the film with him. But for a guy his age and the experience he has, I think he’s pretty good. These defensive coordinators do a better job than ever of showing one look and getting to something else. That’s just something you’ve got to deal with, and it comes with experience.

“But I thought he did a lot of really good things. I mean, the turnover, obviously, in the red zone is something that really sticks out. We weren’t quite in the red zone on both, but we were in the score zone, which is right outside of that. Taking the sack … with our kicker, we can’t make those mistakes, and he understands that. We’ll clean that up. But, no, I thought he was really good other than a few things here and there.”

Breaking down Michigan’s first touchdown against USC

There was one play in particular — a great throw and catch from Underwood to graduate wide receiver Donaven McCulley for a touchdown — that raised eyebrows because, before the pass, sophomore running back Jordan Marshall came open on the right side of the field and may have had a walk-in touchdown had he received the football.

When asked if the correct move is to skip the first two options on the progression and go right to somebody that wide open, Lindsey said he was pleased with Underwood’s decision — and, of course, how the play turned out.

At this point, Michigan’s not going to complain about touchdowns — that was a policy former head coach Jim Harbaugh had — nor about great throws, catches and, most importantly, making the right read based on the coverage.

“That play is built for man coverage,” Lindsey explained. “That’s what they were in; Bryce knew that. Jordan would be your checkdown if the other two weren’t open, so no, good read by Bryce. Great throw, great catch.”