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Michigan football will have something of a new look this season in some respects. Though the defense will have some new faces, the scheme and style of play will be the same. But on offense? It’s a completely different ballgame.
Now, the Wolverines will still ‘smash,’ as head coach Sherrone Moore would say, but with the hire of offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, the playbook will have much more of a downfield passing attack, perhaps in opposition to the Jim Harbaugh-West Coast Offense style that we’ve tended to see in Ann Arbor. Given that the defense was stellar throughout much of the 2024 campaign, much of the maize and blue’s success this season will be on the offensive side of the ball.
Thus, when ESPN put together the X-factor for each top team entering 2025, true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood is the defining character for Michigan football this season.
X factor: QB Bryce Underwood
Underwood’s high-profile commitment flip from LSU to Michigan was among the biggest recruiting coups yet in the NIL era. The Wolverines also brought in Mikey Keene through the transfer portal. Keene has thrown for 8,245 career yards and 65 touchdowns during stints at Fresno State and UCF. But Underwood has the talent that could turn Michigan into a playoff contender. That’s a lot to ask of a true freshman. But Underwood isn’t an ordinary freshman. The top-rated pocket passer in the 2025 class, Underwood won two state titles in Michigan and went 50-4 as the starter at Belleville High School, with 38 straight victories from Week 4 of his freshman season to the state title game of his junior year. The Wolverines struggled to throw the ball last year. Underwood could immediately change that in 2025 — if he wins the job.
Underwood doesn’t even need to be otherworldly, as some might claim. Given that Michigan’s identity from…
Source link : https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/wolverines/football/2025/07/16/espn-bryce-underwood-michigan-2025-x-factor-offense/85247775007/
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Publish date : 2025-07-16 19:51:00
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