The University of Michigan named true freshman Bryce Underwood as their starting quarterback for the upcoming August 30th season opener versus the New Mexico Lobos. Kickoff is at 7:30pm ET and will be televised on NBC and Peacock.
Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore gave his reasons for naming Underwood the starter at his press conference on August 25th, saying, “Bryce Underwood will be our starting quarterback…I’ll confirm that. He’s earned the opportunity. It was not given to him. All the other quarterbacks had a really good camp as well. I really thought Jadyn Davis has come along and taken the next steps. He’ll be the two behind him. He’s done a really good job.”.
Underwood was considered the top high school recruit in the country when he signed with Michigan. Underwood will be the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Wolverines since the 2009 season, when Tate Forcier was named the starter.
Here’s the full list of Michigan’s true freshman Week 1 starters at QB:
- 1975 Rick Leach (Michigan 23, Wisconsin 6)
- 2004 Chad Henne (Michigan 43, Miami of Ohio 10)
- 2009 Tate Forcier (Michigan 31, Western Michigan 7)
- 2025 Bryce Underwood (TBD versus New Mexico)
The oddsmakers have posted the spread at -36.5 in favor of Michigan going into this contest. For a true freshman, even one as talented as Underwood, it will be interesting to see how he plays for a Michigan offense that struggled tremendously throughout the 2024 season at scoring points.
