Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood had no interest in talking about what Kyle Whittingham said about his grip on the starting job.
Two days after Whittingham said that Underwood's position as the team's starter was "not infinite," the sophomore was asked about what his coach said. And he was in no mood to talk about it while claiming he hadn't heard what Whittingham said.
"Um, there was comments about that? " Underwood asked. When he was told again what Whittingham said, he replied "That's cool" and that he hadn't seen them.
It was an interaction that looked even more awkward on video than it does written out. Here's how it unfolded.
Michigan QB Bryce Underwood reacts to Kyle Whittingham's comments that his job isn't, nor is anybody's starting job, "infinite. "
"There were comments about that? That's cool. I didn't see that. It's cool. " — Clayton Sayfie (@CSayf23)
However, the final drive was about the only bright spot for Underwood in the season opener. Before throwing for 75 yards on two completions to Buchanan on that possession, Underwood had thrown for 95 yards all game. He finished 12-of-22 passing for 170 yards and the TD while turning the ball over twice.
He said Wednesday that he had identified six "major plays" as points of emphasis to work on ahead of Saturday's game against No. 11 Oklahoma. The Sooners beat Michigan 24-9 in 2025. The loss was Underwood's second game at Michigan.
QB Bryce Underwood says there were 6 major mistakes on film from the Western Michigan game, he's working on fixing those mistakes this week. — Brice Marich (@BriceMarich)
Monday, Whittingham said that the whole team, including the coaching staff, needed to improve. But he also made clear that Underwood was the team's quarterback "right now" when he was asked about Underwood's grip on the starting job."He's our QB right now and you know, it's not something that's infinite," Whittingham said. "At some point we've got to turn a corner and we've got to see improvement as we do with a bunch of stuff. We've got to see improvement out of the coaches.
"And so it's not just on Bryce — and it's not just Bryce's job that is not absolutely set in concrete. Nobody's is. You've got to perform week in and week out and become somebody that we feel like is playing at the level we can win with and that goes far beyond Bryce. It goes throughout the whole team. And so it's what you've done lately is very important in football. "
When he signed with Michigan ahead of the 2025 season, Underwood was the highest-rated Wolverines recruit since Rashaan Gary as the top player in his class. And not only was Underwood the No. 1 recruit, he's also a Michigan native.
Keeping him in Michigan was a massive priority for former coach Sherrone Moore and his staff. It's why Underwood reportedly signed an NIL deal worth four years and $12 million before winning the starting job in his first year with the school.