With a new sheriff in town (head coach Kyle Whittingham), there hasn't been any hiding the fact that starting quarterback Bryce Underwood was going to have to prove himself to keep the job.
After the spring game and the weeks of spring practices, there were signs of yet another change taking place in Ann Arbor as Underwood struggled through drills and saw limited time during the team's scrimmage.
Meanwhile, quarterback Tommy Carr, yes, the grandson of legendary Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, played extremely well, especially for a true freshman.
While Whittingham, true to character, gave no real indication of which quarterback he was leaning toward, and there are still months until the season kicks off, the Wolverines' head coach did share quite a bit of praise for his younger QB.
Bryce Underwood and Tommy Carr might have a true QB battle
"I’m in the facility at 10 at night, and I walk by the quarterback room, and there’s Tommy Carr watching film all by himself," Whittingham said of his freshman player. "He’s completely immersed in his development as far as trying to get better."
No, Whittingham isn't saying that Underwood isn't entirely bought in or "immersed," but he did go out of his way to praise the younger QB.
The Michigan head coach made it clear when he took over the program that nobody's job from the season before was guaranteed. In other words, even multi-million dollar NIL athletes like Underwood would have to re-earn their starting positions.
From what the public has seen, Underwood is struggling to do that, and with what Whittingham is saying, he might need to have a personal reckoning before he steps onto the field with the Wolverines again.
This by no means is to say that Carr has stolen the job from Underwood. Michigan still has weeks of summer practices on the horizon ahead of fall ball starting up and the actual season kicking off.
However, Whittingham's message about Carr's dedication might be just the wakeup call that Underwood needed heading into the true offseason.
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