Michigan does not have a QB1 problem. Bryce Underwood owns that job, and everyone knows it. The sophomore is back for Year 2, already has a captain’s badge, and spent the offseason working with QB coach Jordan Palmer and training alongside Joe Burrow. Barring something drastic, he will be under center against Western Michigan on Sept. 5. The problem starts the moment Underwood leaves the field. Michigan still does not know who comes in next.

As Michigan insider Brice Marich shared, Michigan OC Jason Beck says the QB2 race has tightened. Freshman Tommy Carr had the early lead, and it was not particularly close. But veteran transfer Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi has erased that gap and turned the backup job into a real competition.

On July 31, before fall camp even started, Kyle Whittingham made it clear that Tommy Carr was Michigan’s QB2. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, meanwhile, was still getting up to speed in the offense.

“Tommy Carr is the number two right now, without a doubt, going into fall camp,” Whittingham said. “Now, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi is a guy who’s going to get some reps. We’ve got to find out what he’s all about. Chase Herbstreit did some good things in the spring, but Tommy outplayed him.”

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Carr had earned that confidence. He impressed throughout spring and backed it up in Michigan’s spring game, making plays with both his arm and legs. He ripped off runs of 14 and 16 yards and connected with Jaime Ffrench, Kendrick Bell and Jamar Browder for chunk gains. By the end of spring, the QB2 job looked like his to lose.

Whittingham liked more than just the production. “He has a great pocket presence. He can extend plays, keeps his eyes downfield. All the things you look for in a big-time quarterback, I believe Tommy possesses.”

By the end of spring, the QB2 job looked like his to lose. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, meanwhile, arrived in Ann Arbor only in early June and had to learn Jason Beck’s offense on the fly. Beck admitted the transition was rough at first.

“After that first little bit (of camp, Fowler-Nicolosi) he was kind of swimming,” he said. “But within the last week, he’s totally settled down and really closed the gap. As you’d expect, he’s kind of been there, does a lot of really good things, and has a lot of experience.”

So now, they’re splitting second-team reps. That means Michigan isn’t simply handing Tommy Carr the backup job because he got there first. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi has made the competition real.

“They’re competing like crazy,” Beck added. “We’ll have to make a decision here at some point going forward.”

Fowler-Nicolosi has one obvious advantage over Carr: experience. The fifth-year transfer started 28 games at Colorado State and finished with 6,938 passing yards, 38 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. But that résumé comes with baggage.

He opened 2025 as Colorado State’s starter but completed just 53.7% of his passes for 488 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in three starts before losing the job to Jackson Brousseau and eventually stepping away from the program. Michigan is essentially giving him a reset.

And there is a reason to believe in one. In 2023, Fowler-Nicolosi threw for 3,460 yards and 22 touchdowns and earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors. But the turnover issue never disappeared. He threw 16 interceptions that season and has 29 in 31 career games.

Unlike the 6-foot-3, 212-pound Fowler-Nicolosi, who is more of a pocket passer, Tommy Carr gives Michigan more mobility. Beck sees Carr as the better option when a play breaks down, with the ability to escape, run, and create on the move.

So Michigan has two very different options fighting for the same job. And that battle says something about the QB sitting ahead of both of them.

Bryce Underwood is entering a much different Year 2

Bryce Underwood’s freshman season didn’t follow the script. The former No. 1 overall recruit threw for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. His footwork was inconsistent, and there were moments when he appeared to be trying to force the game instead of letting it come to him. Kyle Whittingham has a pretty simple explanation for some of that. People expected the QB to be Superman. That was never a fair demand for a player who had only recently turned 18.

This year, the message is different. Kyle Whittingham doesn’t want Bryce Underwood chasing miracle plays or feeling like every broken snap requires him to save Michigan. Jason Beck is also going to use the QB’s legs more. That could be one of the biggest changes to Michigan’s offense. Designed QB runs are expected to become a bigger part of the plan under Beck.

“I’ve had a pretty good running quarterback for quite a while now, going way back to when I was at BYU. We had Taysom Hill, who was like the poster child of that, and then we had total pocket passers as the backup, so we were able to just switch immediately between the two styles”, Beck said

“But with having the preference of what can we recruit and can we do, I love a guy that can be a weapon with his legs in the run game. Now, he still has to do the other thing at a high level to throw the football and score points and win. But to have a threat with everything that way, I definitely prefer it.”

So far, Beck likes the progress. After 13 good practices, he said Bryce Underwood has been steady. Kyle Whittingham has been even more enthusiastic, handing the QB an A-plus for his work in fall camp. That part of Michigan’s QB room is settled. But behind him, Michigan is giving both Tommy Carr and Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi a real shot.