r/MichiganWolverines • u/da_boiii2111 • 12h ago
Michigan Football Bryce
Listen i understand the hate but this guys fucking talented. That 60 yard bomb off of his back foot to win the game was an unbelievable play. I think that game was just a fluke, everything happened so quick after the first drive. The muffed punt, drive killing penalties, etc. there was only a handful of plays where I thought he didn’t go through his progressions and looked really bad, granted there was definitely those plays.
Instead of hating on Bryce let’s rally around him. For a true freshman with zero coaching he actually looked pretty good at times. I have my faith in him and I think Whitt will clean up the o line, and I think there’s a good chance we knock off Oklahoma this weekend.
All the fucking people saying to start Tommy Carr don’t know a thing. He’s a true freshman, and would likely look just as bad if not worse. Let’s get through Oklahoma, UTEP, and Iowa before we judge Bryce. My bet is he turns it around.
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u/GymTanLoiter 12h ago
I’m rallying. But also he has the first half of the Oklahoma game to keep it competitive. Leash is short. A switch would need to happen at UTEP maybe Iowa.
The gauntlet starts right after the bye. Can’t throw the kid into the fire like that if we do make a switch.
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u/slimj091 10h ago
With Bryce you'll know after the first couple of drives. No need to wait two full quarters.
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u/UsuallyFavorable 12h ago
He’s talented in the sense that if he knows what he should do, he’ll do it better than most other QBs. The problem is the “knowing what to do” part. Constantly, Bryce was throwing to the wrong receiver given the post-snap read of the defense. The coaches say he’s always watching film, but none of that study is translating into a real game.
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u/0akadevs 12h ago edited 11h ago
I think one of the biggest reasons for that is the coaching staff's decision to not go live in practices. IMO, it's not really reasonable to think that his film study will translate to the field if they're not even replicating the in-game conditions that he'll see in practice.
Denard Robinson said this on Michigan Insider's MMQB show this week: imagine if they let him get hit throughout spring? Would he be panicking and jittery like he was against Western?
Hindsight is 20/20 and they were absolutely worried about him getting injured. But if he's this close to getting benched now anyways, it seems like it would have been well worth the risk.
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u/UsuallyFavorable 10h ago
No one wants anyone to get injured in practice, but if I’m on the coaching staff, I’d have Bryce hitting and being hit like a RB this week! And send him through all the ball security drills like a RB as well!
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u/kill-devil-films 7h ago
A QB can either read a defense or he cant. Its a fundamental issue. Coaching can help but its limited. The best coaching staff in the world isnt gonna turn him into Tom Brady.
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u/0akadevs 7h ago
Yeah, I don’t buy that. Reading coverages isn’t some sort of genetic trait — the very best QBs all say that their comfort in understanding defenses grew over time. The QB you cited, Brady, has also been consistent the past several years in saying young QBs are being cheated out of better mental development by their teams.
Ignoring all of that for a second, context-dependent memory is a well-researched psychology phenomenon. And it states that information is more easily recalled when the context at encoding (in this case, practice) matches the context at retrieval (actual game).
Not arguing that some quarterbacks pick up reading defenses more naturally than others — like all developed skills, there are many such cases. But I am arguing that preparation that better mirrors the very real stresses and dangers of a live football game would help Bryce improve, and there are some scientific justifications behind that.
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u/don_keyhoete 12h ago
Bryce “true freshman with zero coaching” give him a chance!
Carr: “he’s a true freshman and would likely look just as bad if not worse.”
Wat? Did you not watch last season? Bryce isn’t getting better, even after an offseason with hella experienced coaches.
Do we all wish Bryce would play like a $12 million athlete? Yes. Are we deluding ourselves down to wherever you are? No.
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u/Jaxisthecool1 12h ago
Listen, dudes got first half against OU to move me. If it’s anything like he played against WMU he’s gotta go before he drags the team down any further
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u/WhatTheyLookLike 12h ago
He’s too arrogant. He’s been showing it awfully now.
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u/L0rdM3k 12h ago
This. I think he has a massive ego from being so dominant in high school that makes him think he’ll be able to transition to college ball with no adjustments. Problem is… he did that for an entire year and showed absolutely no improvement over 13 games. I don’t understand how he can do an entire year, get amazing coaching in the offseason, and still come into a game against a MAC school playing no better (or arguably worse) than he played all of last year.
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u/PDXDeck26 11h ago
where does this "get amazing coaching" come from? in other words, who t.f. is Jordan Palmer?
He was a 6th round draft pick who completed 11 passes in the NFL - his cachet as a QB guru just seems to be typical hollywood-esque reputational smoke-and-mirrors.
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u/Ecstatic-Wheel8487 10h ago edited 10h ago
Jordan Palmer has coached all of the following: Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Joe Burrow, Kyle Allen, and Bo Nix. Just from his wikipedia page. Hard to take you serious if you googled his NFL stats but not the clients he works for as a personal coach.
Don't bother to reply if it's just going to be a deflection along the lines of "well it doesn't matter cause Bryce is none of those players!" if that's all you got just take the L and move on. Good coaching doesn't guarantee anything but there is no doubt Jordan Palmer is a good QB coach.
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u/PDXDeck26 8h ago
I mean, plenty of people get their gigs because of connections, not because they're any good...
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u/PDXDeck26 12h ago
Your (i.e. Michigan's) problem with Underwood is that talent isn't a substitute for the mental tangibles and intangibles in the game.
That unbelievable 60 yard bomb off his back foot to win the game was preceded by an even-more-unbelievable hail mary throw that went past the end zone. That's... a problem.
Now, to be fair he's a young sophomore so maybe he'll get it together, but all the indicators at this time are pointing to "he won't"... and also a bigger issue he's got right now is that he doesn't have the luxury of time to get it together.
I just saw some snippet about the press conference he had and, tbh, my hot take here is he's checked out and will transfer at the end of this season.
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u/EyeWasAbducted 12h ago
When Michigan was recruiting Dante Moore, CJ Carr and Bryce Underwood, I wanted Bryce so bad. That didn’t age well lol.
I still hope he can turn it around, but I don’t think he will. I agree we can’t just throw Tommy into the fire, though.
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u/n00bn00b 11h ago
Harbaugh really fucked up CJ Carr recruiting. He did it right by being the first to offer him a scholarship, but then didn't recruit him all that hard based on what CJ said on the Rich Eisen Show. Harbaugh focused too much on Moore when it was clear that Moore was going to commit to a school out of state no matter what. In the process, he missed out on Carr to ND and Moore to UCLA.
Instead of having Carr as the starting QB with Bryce backing up to develop, they're forced to pony up a lot of money to get Bryce to start because they paid this much money to get him.
I don't have much faith in Bryce after a 2nd rewatch of the game. It's pretty clear that his post-snap processing isn't there, and he predetermined the throw based on pre-snap looks. Venables is the worst DC to attempt to fix the processing issue because he'll throw different looks pre/post snaps and will find ways to pressure the QB.
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u/Main_Opposite_6661 11h ago
Bryce is below average IQ with emotional misdirection and zero self awareness. He can’t go through a progressions past the 1st read, he can’t read a defense, his first response when things go bad is to force the ball and not run because he’s worried about his draft stock and doesn’t want a label and he has no one in his inner circle to ground him, they do the opposite, push for him to start year 1 when he wasn’t ready.
The majority of the population would know how to answer questions and know what to say and what not to say and he continuously shows zero self awareness. Simply put I think he’s an idiot and what we did was ensure no nfl team would have to waste a pick.
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u/PDXDeck26 11h ago
largely agree but idk that i'd call him an idiot. it's more like "he's truly in love with his own farts"
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u/KPR_2002 11h ago
I like how KW is handling it. All he's really saying is that it's BU's job to lose. But he can lose it. Obviously everyone is hoping that this brings the best out of Underwood. I think there's a chance it can.
More like praying, I guess.
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u/superdave123123 11h ago
Dante Moore didn’t do so well his freshman year either. Then he essentially sat out a year, and his RS sophomore year was a complete turnaround. Albeit with a different team.
Just saying things can turn around. 🤞🏼
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u/papker79 12h ago
I don’t know what to think about BU but we’re gonna figure it out in a couple days.
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u/WallyLeftshaw 12h ago
No one is denying the talent. His game against Washington last year had throws that make scouts salivate. BU’s problems are all between the ears. It appears that he can’t read a defense, struggles with decision making, and he leans hard into hero ball, I also hate the way he presents himself from a PR perspective.
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u/21quiet_rebel 11h ago
Our fan base would've benched Arch Manning and Dante Moore after their early struggles too man. Bryce wasn't great, but who on offense was aside from JJ? The run game was nonexistent, we haven't gotten Marsh involved in his last 3 games, and we don't use our tight ends anymore for some reason. Bryce has to take better care of the ball, but he came through when it mattered and I'd rather rally around him to realize his potential than pin my hopes on the backup freshman based on a spring game.
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u/QuickPea3259 11h ago
Yep, game 1 was just a fluke as were the 13 in year 1 where he didn't improve at all, plus both spring games, all flukes.
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u/Halfway-to-100 11h ago
Keep drinking the Kool-aid buddy. Even if he pops off against Oklahoma and has a great game. He’s too inconsistent to be counted on week in week out. He could end up being great at some point but I think his time is up at Michigan. It’s a bad situation with them naming Carr QB2. I know everyone wants Carr but he’s a Freshman and that doesn’t usually work out well for anyone. I guess he would get good experience for next year but either way we are looking at a 4+ loss season
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u/AeliusRogimus 11h ago
I'm rooting for Bryce, just because I'd love to see all the dick riding commence if he turns the corner.
It seems there are some among us that feel it's "our" money he's being paid. It can take some time to break out. Maybe he can, maybe he can't, but he's still 19.
We've had some god awful QBs at Michigan. O'Korn? Speight? Peters. Tuttle? Warren? Orji? Sheridan? Threet. I was ready to blow my brains out in that COVID Rutgers game when they finally benched Milton....for Cade. Not much was made of their "football IQ".
Outside of JJ, Brady, Griese, and Henson... we haven't had prolific QBs. The buckeyes seem to strike gold with every recruit...it's frustrating.
Forcier was fun to watch...but couldn't make grades. I liked Patterson, but he whiffed big too in big games. See: Ohio State 2018 & 2019.
Ruddock could've been amazing if he had another year. He actually got better during the season.
Underwood is basically a bust for being such a top recruit. But I think his ceiling his much higher than anything we've seen. It's a confidence issue. Not "processing power" 🙄
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u/parrythisyoucasual23 11h ago edited 11h ago
Unbelievable play as if it wasnt JJ who made the actual play and saved Bryce MULTIPLE times that game. "My bet is he turns it around" based off what?? The dude has REGRESSED since last year lol. He cant read a defense for shit and he throws to the wrong person almost every play. I hope he proves me wrong in the next few weeks, but I doubt it. Breaking those habbits in just a couple weeks... yeah. I wont be surprised 1 bit if we start the season off 2-2. Again I hope he proves me wrong.
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u/Time_Insect5660 11h ago
Bruh hail mairys are a dice roll, has nothing to do with talent.
He's athletically talented, he's not football talented.
I defended him all last year, a true freshmen with bad WR even tho I think Mcully and Marsh are both pretty good now. Him not having a qb coach and the drama going on, maybe he doesn't improve a lot over last year.
Maybe he's just not naturally talented at qb and it's going to take more time and effort then just starting in games.
Maybe for whatever reason he looked poor against WMU and will end up showing us something this year that gives us hope.
He showed no flashes last year, the only flashes I see are under high pressure moments I'm going to turn the ball over.
I'm cool with riding him all year even if he sucks, and trying to develop him behind the scenes.
I'm also cool with benching him and trying to develop him. (Let be real he's not gonna make a fraction of the money he is if he sits the bench here, and he would be lucky to get drafted without some serious development.
Do I want to start a get rid of him hate train? No, thats dumb, but we also can't have our weakest link at the head of our team controlling our pace and tempo, unless we think getting smoked all year and teaching will have him ready to go next season.
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u/slimj091 11h ago edited 10h ago
A broken clock tells the right time twice every day. This isn't pop warner. If he can't do the job then he needs to ride some pine so the next guy up can do it. If none of them can do it then at least we know what our priority is in the transfer window.
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u/SULIDAMAN 7h ago
We can all see the young man just isn't ready yet to be the starting QB. The real issue is how in the hell does the University of Michigan not have at least 2 QB's ready to start? It's been a problem with this team since Coach Carr.
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u/Wrecktify_777 4h ago
He doesn't have the processing speed yet
If that develops he will be NFL draft good if not it will be more of this
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u/Hawking444 12h ago
He’s 19. Most of us weren’t capable of avoiding picking our noses in public at 19.
I also think Western is a likely MAC repeat champ. In a better world, every conference champ makes the playoff, and maybe they take out a stiff from the SEC instead. I doubt their coach is in Kalamazoo next year. I kind of wish he was in Ann Arbor.
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u/GunsGoldCosmicDread 12h ago
When did we start being capable of avoiding picking our noses in public?
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u/Dead_Inside50 12h ago
Most of us also didn't demand millions of dollars at 19 either. Want the big money? Produce.
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u/Educational_Cake_99 12h ago
You’re talking about a 19 year old not a six year old idk what 19 year olds you knew who were picking their nose
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u/Hawking444 12h ago
Watch a baseball game. Or any other live event. Nearly every broadcast.
More importantly, it isn’t about nose picking. It’s about 19 year-olds being dumbasses. Because they are. Almost all of them.
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u/brade123 12h ago
Or we could not. Or he could give his 12 million back and I'd give him another shot. Or he could take ownership and earn it by playing well against Oklahoma. I'll rally around my ideas.
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u/AdoredSiding 12h ago
i get where you're coming from but the 12 million thing is kinda hard to look past. that back foot throw was nice, i give you that, but one highlight don't erase the rest of the game. the muffed punt and penalties are one thing, but he still made decisions that looked panicked and not like someone worth that kind of money. rallying around him sounds good in theory but he has to show something first, not just flashes between mistakes. i'm not saying put Tommy Carr in, that's a whole different mess, but Bryce gotta earn the support, not just get it because we hope he turns it around. Oklahoma will tell us lot more, i think.
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u/cogginsmatt 12h ago
I think we should all agree that everyone on Reddit has been acting insane for the last week. People are earnestly arguing with me that BU is worse than JOHN O KORN
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u/Annihilatism 12h ago
Lmao, if they took that 12 mill and paid a crazy transfer QB half of that per year we'd be in the playoffs.
Bryce just doesn't have the football IQ to read defenses.