Michigan, we may have a quarterback problem.
Well, that could ultimately prove to be an understatement, but clear No. 1 signal-caller Bryce Underwood hardly gave any reason for a vote of strong confidence with his spring game performance.
Now, a spring game is exactly what it sounds like, nothing more than a meaningless scrimmage in a lot of regards. But, it does tell us a little bit of something, and Underwood's outing can be described as shaky at best.
He was 3-for-9 passing for 22 yards and took two sacks during the singular quarter of action he played in. Sure, it wasn't great, but note the words "singular quarter." While Underwood still showed some of the same inconsistencies he had last season, with things like timing, ball-placement and decision-making, he did have some bright moments that included a 16-yard completion to tight end Eli Owens.
Tommy Carr could give Bryce Underwood a run for his money, but is it too early to say that?
Tommy Carr saw more action than Underwood did, so it's worth noting that he had more opportunity for his stat line to be more level for playing time's sake. But, numbers aside, Carr was far and away the better quarterback.
Both Carr and Underwood suffered the effects of poor offensive line play, but Carr was able to work around the mishaps with greater ease as he connected on 21 of his 30 passing attempts for 143 yards.
For just a freshman, Carr was poised in the pocket and seemed to have the comfortability of a veteran. He showed all the flashes of a quarterback with a high ceiling -- a ceiling higher than Underwood. But he was also playing against weaker competition, while Underwood was going up against the upperclassmen.
Head coach Kyle Whittingham offered his thoughts following the spring showcase.
"I thought Tommy Carr showed a lot of poise and did some good things," Whittingham told the media. "Bryce had a limited time... when you play a spring game, when you split up the team evenly, like we did, you're playing with. The ones aren't together, and the twos aren't together, so you're kind of a hodgepodge. But you still get a good idea of who's a playmaker and who's not."
What we can expect from Michigan at quarterback for Week 1
Look, there's clearly a lot of hype around Carr, but to think that Whittingham is going to pull the trigger on anyone but Underwood at starting quarterback for the first week of the season is a pipe dream for those already devoted to Carr.
After Underwood finished out the 2025 season with a 60% completion rate, passing for 2,428 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, there's a lot to be cleaned up. But if Carr keeps on this trajectory and Underwood does not get things polished up fast despite being named the clear starter by Whittingham earlier in the offseason, things could change quite quickly.
“Competition’s always a good thing, but Bryce is our guy right now,” Whittingham told Big Ten Network following the spring game. “He’s a guy that’s got a ton of upside. We believe Tommy does, too. But coming out of spring, Bryce is obviously going to be No. 1."
Only time will tell how long that lasts.
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