Points were at a premium in the Michigan football spring game as the Maize team won 7-6, thanks to a last-minute touchdown drive led by Tommy Carr.
The Grandson of Lloyd Carr sure played well. He made good decisions, but people calling for him to push for the starting job are overreacting. Bryce Underwood didn't have his best day.
Still, it would be silly to overreact to one quarter of a spring game. Looking back, here are four observations from the Michigan football spring game.
Bryce Underwood needs to progress more
Fans shouldn't overreact to one quarter. That protection could have been better and Underwood attempted nine throws. He only completed three of them, but it's not like he was out there with the entire starting lineup either.
If Underwood doesn't miss the out to Hogan Hansen, and hits one of the two deep passes that he was off on, fans would feel much better about his performance.
Underwood is still young. He's developing, and he wasn't used as a runner. He needs to throw the ball better going forward, but it's way too early to worry about a lack of development in 2026.
Wait for the games to see what happens. I have no doubt Underwood will be much improved next season.
Tommy Carr looked like a future starter
Michigan fans shouldn't start calling for Carr to be the starter. He played well, but it was mostly against backups.
Carr has poise, though. He never looked sped up, always made the right decision, and throws a very catchable ball. He always seems to put the ball in the right place.
It would have been nice to see more from Underwood, but with Carr looking promising early on, it feels like the future of the QB room is in a good place.
Michigan's defense was dominant
Maybe the most encouraging thing about the spring game was the play of the defense. Nate Marshall stood out. Dominic Nichols, Enow Etta, and Lugard Edokpayi all flashed. Deyvid Palepale is another who looked good, along with Utah transfer Jonah Lea'ah. The linebackers made plays, too. That room could be better than expected, sort of like in 2021.
New defensive coordinator Jay Hill had things looking really smooth. The communication was good in the secondary, as you'd expect, and the tackling, when it was full contact, was solid, too.
The defensive line looks like one position group that will easily exceed expectations.
Savion Hiter is the real deal
Savion Hiter didn't get a ton of opportunities, but he looked like the real deal, as he did all spring. After the game, Whittingham said Hiter and Carr were the biggest positives of the spring.
Hiter bounced off some tacklers, made some nice cuts, and even showed off the hands coaches have been talking about this spring. Jordan Marshall looked like RB1, but not by a huge margin.
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