Despite not being able to play in the bowl game, the Michigan faithful are curious to see how five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood is fairing now that he's formally with the program and preparing to start practicing with the Wolverines.
In his short time with the program, he has impressed his teammates and is working hard to earn their respect.
There might not be a better perspective than what Davis Warren offered the media on Thursday.
"He’s started to get rolling here with us," Warren said. "And, man, he’s a great kid. “First and foremost, loves football. You can tell he’s a competitor. Humble, wants to get better. And I think that’s, I mean, I think it’s a bit of a little bit of a beautiful thing, the way he came in versus the way I came in, you know? Couldn’t be any more different in terms of — I don’t know if there was even an article written about me when I committed and I’m sure there’s been a lot written about him.
“But you wouldn’t be able to tell. He’s just a guy who wants to get better, wants to improve. Knows he’s got a lot to learn, just like any freshman would. But he’s been great. Today was really his first day the (freshmen are) rolling with us. And, yeah, he wants to help this team win games, just like I do, just like everyone in this building wants to. That’s the way Coach Moore built it. He’s built the recruiting classes. And, I’m so glad that Bryce is here, and it’s gonna be a lot of fun to have him.”
Warren knows very well that things take time in college football. While Underwood's talent is obvious, success might not come immediately, and you'll have good and bad days in practice.
Warren knows what it takes to command a team and, despite the two paths being very different, offered his perspective as a quarterback at a place like Michigan.
“We were just trying to get Bryce to help him find his helmet today," Warren said. "So there’s a certain level of getting that all figured out, and making sure you know all those things. There’s a lot going on. I remember my first practice and just trying to make sure I wasn’t late and everything lined up. But I remember making one good throw and Coach Harbaugh hyped me up. And that was kind of what I needed at the time to kind of feel like, OK, I belong and can move forward. No one has a perfect career, right? No one, you know, no one. Maybe you can name one or two guys ever that have been that have, but everyone’s had hiccups. I mean, even Peyton Manning threw the most interceptions, I think, for a rookie in NFL history, or whoever you can name anyone.
“So everyone’s going to have ups and downs. I’ve had ups and downs in my career, and he’s going to have ups and downs too. But I know he’s well-suited for it. And that was kind of my message to him, is just take it all in stride. Take it all as a learning opportunity. Be humble, be hungry, and you’ll fit in well here and earn the respect of the guys because that’s a huge part of playing quarterback is having the respect of the group and knowing that when you’re out there, they can trust you to make the right play and be the competitor to go win the game.”
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