It’s still extremely early in the season, but the Michigan Wolverines are undefeated. On paper, a 2-0 record looks nice, but the quarterback room with Bryce Underwood as QB1 is a disaster. It’s time for Kyle Whittingham to give the ball to Tommy Carr.
Underwood Has Failed To Impress
Underwood’s five-star ranking hasn’t been showing in his game performances since arriving in Ann Arbor. Last season he finished with an alarming six interceptions and a 60.3% pass completion rate. This season hasn’t been much different, starting with the season opener against Western Michigan University. In the narrow yet controversial win over the Broncos, Underwood stumbled and only managed to squeak out a win with a final-second Hail Mary throw.
Underwood’s performance against Oklahoma wasn’t the prettiest way to get a win either. He didn’t need to repeat a game-winning Hail Mary, but carrying the ball a career-high 18 times shows that his accuracy hasn’t improved much. A five-star quarterback should be able to move the ball through the air just as well as on the ground. Underwood hasn’t shown that for too long.
Michigan Needs To Give Tommy Carr A Chance
It’s time for Whittingham to give the ball to true freshman Tommy Carr, who isn’t just another body in the quarterback room; he’s a possible legend in the making, as he’s the grandson of national championship-winning coach Lloyd Carr. Sentimentality alone isn’t the reason to make the switch; rather, it’s Carr’s capability.
In his final two years at Saline High School, Carr threw for over 5,200 yards and a staggering 64 touchdowns to nine interceptions. High school statistics don’t translate perfectly to the collegiate field, but Carr demonstrates similar ball security to Underwood, with both quarterbacks finishing with fewer than 10 interceptions during high school. Carr now needs a chance to transfer his skills onto a collegiate field.
The counterargument from Underwood loyalists remains the same. They say that he needs more time. The same thing happened to Dylan Raiola, a top QB prospect for the high school class of 2024. In his freshman season, Raiola finished with 11 interceptions and a 67.1% pass completion rate before improving to 72.4% and only having six interceptions in his sophomore season. The difference, however, is that Nebraska doesn’t face the same postseason expectations as Michigan.
Making a quarterback change is never easy, especially when it involves benching a player with Underwood’s astronomical recruiting profile and NIL contract. Whittingham wasn’t hired to coddle five-star recruits; he was brought to Ann Arbor to win football games, which won’t come easy.
Michigan Can’t Afford To Wait
After what should be a straightforward tune-up against UTEP, the Wolverines enter a grueling Big Ten slate that features matchups against defending national champion Indiana, undefeated Iowa and Penn State, and of course, the annual war against Ohio State – a game they lost last season. If Michigan rolls into those games with Underwood as the starter rather than Carr, this offense risks becoming one-dimensional, centered on a rushing QB.
Carr necessarily doesn’t need to be the starter in all the games, but Whittingham needs to give the freshman some meaningful snaps. The longer Carr waits to get his first snap, the more difficult it’ll be to thrust him in must-win games.
Michigan is still in the beginning weeks of the season, which gives Carr the perfect opportunity to step on the field. Underwood is the starting QB for the Wolverines’ game against UTEP, but Carr shouldn’t spend the entire afternoon on the sideline. Even if Michigan is barely winning, Whittingham needs to take the ball from Underwood and give it to Carr.
