The Michigan football offseason first centered around new head coach Kyle Whittingham and all of the different names he brought to Ann Arbor. What will it look like when the Utah head coach and his staff have more to work with? Especially, what will Jason Beck’s offense look like now that he’ll have much more talent at his disposal?
But those narratives shifted after the April spring game to how the staff can fix Bryce Underwood.
Underwood started every game in his freshman campaign after coming out of high school as the No. 1 recruit in the country. In the early going, he looked the part, but as the season progressed, he didn’t. Thus, once the final games of the season hit — against Ohio State and Texas, respectively — Underwood had some issues, and in some ways was more of a detriment than a boon for the maize and blue.
NBC analyst Todd Blackledge visited Ann Arbor this spring and had some positive things to say about the Wolverines. He delved a bit deeper on the Y-Option Podcast with Yogi Roth, noting that, much like the staff has said — but fans didn’t see in the spring game — Underwood is taking strides forward under Whittingham and Beck.
“I think he definitely looks more comfortable, even though it’s a different system,” Blackledge said. “But I think he’s more comfortable because he has those games under his belt. And I think that he’s a very serious kid when it comes to work, training, and preparation. I mean, he wants to be in the building. He wants to be great, wants to be coached. And I think Jason Beck is going to be great for him.”
Ultimately, Blackledge believes that Beck’s style and system will benefit Underwood greatly.
He points to what Beck was able to do with little-known quarterback Devon Dampier to turn him into a bona fide weapon. And given what Blackledge saw from Beck and his workings from afar compared to what he actually saw last year with Underwood, he thinks that this is a marriage that should work wonders.
“Look at Jason Beck’s track record the last couple of years, whether it was at New Mexico, whether it was at Utah, off the charts, right?” Blackledge said. “And what he does with an offense, with a running game — very creative in how they run the football, the way they use personnel and formations and motions and everything. And then how they train and utilize the quarterback, both as a thrower and a runner. So I think from a skill set standpoint, Bryce is, he’s going to be perfect for this offense.
“And my biggest thing with him is — I had them the first game last year against New Mexico, ironically. And Bryce did a lot of great things, played really well. They didn’t really try to protect him overly. They kind of let him do his thing, and he played extremely well. My biggest thing was I saw him a couple other times later in the year, and I did not feel like he was better down the road than he was in Week 1 when I saw him. I don’t know how well-coached he was last year. I think his development, from a footwork standpoint, and all the fundamentals and basics of playing the position, I just think that that didn’t get treated and taken care of the way it needs to. And I think that will happen this year. That’s what I hope to see out of him this year, is just, when I see him this season at the end of the year, that he’s better than he was when the season began because he continues to develop.”
Michigan is set to begin summer conditioning next week with eyes on fall camp starting in August. The season proper will begin on September 5, when the Wolverines host Western Michigan for a night game on Blackledge’s NBC.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Will Jason Beck unlock Bryce Underwood at Michigan?
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
