The Michigan passing offense was among the worst among power conference teams in 2024, but freshman phenom Bryce Underwood showed Saturday why the Wolverines broke the bank to bring him to Ann Arbor to turn around their offensive fortunes.
Underwood completed 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards and one touchdown in No. 15 Michigan’s 34-17 win over New Mexico on Saturday, and put some incredible throws on tape that showed a level of skill well beyond his years. This week Michigan will face a stiffer test from No. 18 Oklahoma, as Underwood will get his first taste of what life is like on the road when the Wolverines meet the Sooners in Norman.
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables is known for being a defensive mastermind, and when asked this week about Underwood, he noted some similarities between the freshman star and another top QB prospect his defense went up against in practice each week when he was the defensive coordinator at Clemson, via ESPN.
“He’s a little different,” Venables said. “It reminds me a lot of a Trevor Lawrence. Quick. Decisive. Accurate. Poised. Tough. Consistent. There’s a reason he was the No. 1 player in America. And he’s got a maturity and a work ethic and leadership agility to go along with that.”
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Lawrence helped lead Clemson to a national championship as a freshman in 2018 and went on to become a sure-fire No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Comparing a freshman QB to Lawrence is some incredibly high praise, especially from Venables, who was at Clemson for Lawrence’s entire tenure.
Venables clearly doesn’t expect Underwood to simply be rattled by the moment of his first big road start, and knows he is going to have to have the Oklahoma defense firing on all cylinders to slow him down. We’ll find out Saturday night what he and the Sooners have cooked up to try and fluster and frustrate the freshman signal-caller in the marquee game of the Week 2 slate.
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