Klatt Says Whittingham Owes Underwood No Loyalty at Quarterback
FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt says Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham has no personal stake in keeping Bryce Underwood as the Wolverines' starting quarterback, since Whittingham neither recruited the sophomore nor named him the starter. Klatt made the comments Wednesday on "The Herd," days after Underwood struggled in Michigan's Week 1 win over Western Michigan.
Underwood, once the No. 1 overall recruit in his class, was brought to Ann Arbor under former head coach Sherrone Moore through a high-profile NIL arrangement and was installed as the starter as a true freshman. Whittingham, hired after 20 seasons at Utah where he became the winningest coach in program history, inherited both the quarterback and the rest of the roster upon taking over. "Kyle Whittingham is not tied to Bryce Underwood," Klatt said. "It was not Kyle's decision to give Bryce Underwood the NIL deal. He's not as tied to Underwood as the previous coaching staff." msl myanmar
In his first game under the new staff, Underwood completed 12 of 22 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and two turnovers. Whittingham has since signaled the arrangement is not fixed. "He's our QB right now, and it's not something that's infinite," Whittingham said. "At some point, we've got to turn a corner." Underwood said he was unaware of the remarks when asked about them this week, responding, "There were comments about that? That's cool. I didn't see that. It's cool." Klatt described the offense's performance against Western Michigan as disjointed, saying, "What it looked like against Western Michigan was oil and water. You have a quarterback running a system that just didn't look like it was gelling."
The situation faces an immediate test Saturday when No. 11 Oklahoma visits Ann Arbor, pitting Underwood against a Sooners defense considered among the nation's best and a Michigan offense still searching for rhythm. Klatt framed the matchup as a pivotal gauge of Whittingham's patience. "How effective is he? How long does he stay in the game if he is ineffective? That's a question," Klatt said, adding that he believes strong coaching means adapting scheme to a quarterback's strengths rather than forcing a system. "You've got to decide: What can our guy do well … and now let's build a system around what he can do well."
