The head coach, who went to great lengths to flip Bryce Underwood to Michigan, is gone. As Kyle Whittingham takes up Sherrone Moore’s seat, his staff has apparently rejected the former head coach’s approach to the quarterback’s playing style. For Underwood, that calls for a new opportunity to prove his true potential, and this time, with his running. 

In Utah, Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck thrived by letting playmakers play. They didn’t hide their QBs in the pocket, but used their legs to break defenses. Moore, on the other hand, treated Underwood like a fragile pocket passer, but this new staff views his rushing ability as the missing piece to a title run.

“[Let them] do what they do best,” said Jason Beck during the spring press conference, the offensive coordinator who followed Whittingham from Utah to Michigan, focusing on Underwood’s legs. “And so if they can run, then it’s a weapon, and they’ll be fine. If guys aren’t good runners, then they can get themselves hurt. But if guys are good runners, they’re comfortable doing that, and they excel at it, and you have good success.”

Last season was Underwood’s debut year in Ann Arbor. So, the Wolverines proceeded with extreme caution. Instead of experimenting much with the quarterback, they focused more on the passing game. And indeed Underwood did not disappoint, having completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 2,428 yards. He topped up his numbers with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. For a freshman, those numbers were decent enough to show Bryce Underwood could handle the stage, but they also left room for Michigan to get more out of him, especially his legs.

But when it came to rushing, Whittingham believes there is more to explore with Underwood’s running ability. The quarterback came with 88 carries for 392 yards and six scores. Now, that’s indeed good numbers for a productive runner. 

All the tools were in place, but the toolbox stayed shut. Moore was not keen on putting his quarterback in harm’s way. His mindset was, if you are going to take that risk, “you better have two.” But Whittingham’s coach, Beck, comes with a different philosophy altogether. 

“You do have to be smart about it,” Beck said. “You don’t want to run your quarterback 25 times, unless you have a bye week or something to get him back. But it does seem to be a part of Bryce’s skill set, doing some of the QB run game. He pulls it down and goes, and he looks pretty impressive.”

Even though Moore did not allow Underwood to run in the first two games, things shifted when Biff Poggi took over as interim coach. But again, with Moore back in the camp, after his two-game suspension, Underwood was back in the box, being the pocket passer with running chances popping up when the play broke down. That brief Poggi phase mattered because it was one of the few times Michigan looked more open to using Underwood’s legs instead of asking him to stay locked in as a pocket passer.

The preparations to make the most use of Underwood have started in the Whittingham era. Underwood was spotted in a yellow non-contact jersey during the spring practice. 

“As many reps as we can get doing everything we’re doing,” Whittingham’s coach said of his plan to push Underwood to be his version. “We’ve obviously got to develop some other quarterbacks as well, but you’ve got to start with plan A and get that developed to the highest level. So, just want to get him tons of reps.”

Even though Underwood might feel free under Whittingham, being able to run more, not to forget, the pressure is rising, too. 

Bryce Underwood’s challenge in Kyle Whittingham’s system 

We know that at the end of the day, a coaching revamp is not enough for a program to survive. Ultimately, it falls to the players to implement the plan. For Underwood, it’s his task to erase the past and script a history with Whittingham. 

“What is Bryce Underwood going to look like in this offense? What is Bryce Underwood going to look like with coaching? That isn’t just melting down. I mean, I go back to, like, the Northwestern game at the end of the season,” said Andy Staples on the On3 podcast. 

Those late-season sacks against Northwestern happened because the previous staff boxed him in. Instead of trusting his instincts to scramble when the pocket collapsed, Underwood hesitated. Jason Beck’s new playbook aims to remove that hesitation, turning those negative passing plays into punishing runs that keep drives alive. The problem was clear late in the game, as Underwood took three sacks in the fourth quarter and looked stuck in the pocket when Michigan needed a calm answer.

Last season, under him, Utah’s offense ranked No. 5 in the country in scoring with a huge 41.3 points per game. So, under Beck, Underwood’s challenge will be to improve his completion rate and bring down his sacks. For now, under Kyle Whittingham’s system, Bryce Underwood will be running more.