I wouldn't quite throw Underwood under the bus just yet.

They had a very good defense and running game in place for 2025.

Sherrone Moore's offense is a hybrid between a spread and a ball control, pro-style offense. It's already a very conservative offense as it is, and they dumbed down the offense even more, to protect Underwood. He didn't want a true freshman having to shoulder the responsibility of carrying a team, and all but told Underwood to heavily err on the side of not making mistakes.

That's also why Underwood basically held the ball most of the time on the RPO's.

With those stats, it's no surprise that he was barely a blip on the radar.


This year, I suspect Kyle Whittingham will let Underwood break out of "protect the ball" mode a good bit more compared to last year, even though he prefers more of a power running game.

Whittingham's run-heavy spread attack is a very simple system, and should be easy enough for Underwood to pick up in the off-season. If he (Underwood) can't grasp Whittingham's offense, then I would certainly agree that he simply wouldn't have "it" when it comes to being a good QB at the collegiate level.

The Wolverines brought in some decent transfer portal talent at WR for 2026, so at this point, Underwood is out of excuses.