The college football world was nearly in disbelief, knowing what Bryce Underwood’s skills are as the former No. 1 overall recruit, but unsure if he could live up to the hype. Well, it’s been just one week thus far, and yet, against New Mexico, Underwood not only delivered, he perhaps surpassed many’s expectations.
But not those within the building.
Underwood went 21-for-31 for 251 yards and a touchdown, making reads, stepping up in the pocket, delivering the ball with velocity as well as with touch. He made very few poor decisions on Saturday, and the Wolverines need him to continue this week as the maize and blue travel to Oklahoma.
The biggest benefactor of Underwood’s solid performance is the pass catchers, and thus, Michigan wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy was pleased to see the talented freshman play as he did. But, at no point was he surprised by his showing on Saturday.
“Yeah, amazing, amazing,” Bellamy said. “Obviously, he’s a super talented kid, big arm, accurate, understands what’s going on, super cerebral guy. Now, to say I’m surprised how he did, no, I’m not surprised how he did. That’s why he’s a starting quarterback. But I was more excited for him to showcase what his skill sets are.”
With so many options, many unheralded, Underwood can spread the ball around. He did just that, hitting eight different pass catchers vs. the Lobos, ranging from the receivers to the tight ends to the running backs.
One player was expected to be a focal point, IU transfer Donaven McCulley, and though he had four catches for 31 yards, the 6-foot-5 receiver ended up being the fourth-most prolific pass catcher in Week 1 for the maize and blue — behind tight end Marlin Klein and receivers Channing Goodwin and Semaj Morgan. But Bellamy says don’t be surprised if you see a different standout — perhaps McCulley — in Week 2 and beyond.
“Yeah, every week, like I said, the cool thing about this offense, you don’t know who’s gonna get hot,” Bellamy said. “Bryce does a good job of reading the coverages, and wherever the ball goes, the coverage they take, where does the ball go is where he’s gonna go with it. But Donaven, he knows, be where you need to be at and opportunity presents itself to make a play, you gotta make it.
“But the thing I love about Mac, he smiles every day and loves practicing, practices hard, plays hard. That’s what I was most proud of with receivers within the game is those guys, they played their butts off. They played hard and it didn’t matter whether we had the freshman Marsh there or you had some of the other guys, you had Kendrick Bell in there, it didn’t matter. Didn’t matter who was in, they played extremely hard, and that’s how Donaven plays all the time.”
The Wolverines’ next game will take place on the road with a trip to Norman, Oklahoma to face the Sooners looming. That game will kick off on Saturday at 7:44 p.m. EDT with the broadcast set for ABC.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Ron Bellamy praises Bryce Underwood’s debut, says Michigan QB lived up to hype in Week 1
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
