Will a rookie be a starting QB for Michigan? That’s the question every Michigan fan has had since Underwood’s arrival for the LSU Tigers in Ann Arbor. Now, the spring game is turning heads, and all eyes are on Bryce Underwood. Look, Sherrone Moore is ready to roll with his new QB1, and the No. 1 quarterback in the 2025 class is ready to prove himself. Best part? He has already shown what he is capable of. It looks like now the QB competition in Michigan doesn’t make sense anymore, as he is ready for a breakout season, taking one play at a time.
Look, we all know that Michigan’s fiery QB battle is between Sherrone Moore’s three cornerstones: Mikey Kenny, Bryce Underwood, and Jadyn Davis. Now, Moore made sure that the race doesn’t just stop at the spring game, making it clear, “It’s a battle; it’s going to go all the way to the fall camp.” But here’s the kicker: Michigan’s spring game is already making things easier for him. As On3′s J.D. PicKell suggests, he may have already found Moore his match.
So, Michigan’s spring game brought highs and lows of both Jadyn Davis and Bryce Underwood. But the sophomore QB Davis who played just one snap last year was much more inconsistent than Underwood. Davis completed 6 out of 17 passes throwing for 74 yards and two interceptions. Now, there’s were key moments where Davis did show flashes of solid decision making but then rust and inconsistency did its part. And that’s the reason PicKell is giving flowers to Underwood, “I do not think if it’s Bryce Underwood versus Jayden Davis in a quarterback battle, Jayden Davis will be your starting quarterback.”
“Now, Jadyn Davis—the reports all spring have been he’s progressed, he’s taken the right steps, he’s improved a lot from last year. One of the main concerns around Jadyn Davis, for me at least, is you hear a lot about his windup,” PicKell said. Look, Bryce Underwood went 12 out of 26 for 187 yards with just one interception and one TD. But his performance made sure he justified his No. 1 status. Underwood had a slow start. His first play ended with a sack; he held the b–l too long. Later in the game, he got penalized for delaying the game. In the first half, a misread route cost him an interception thrown into a heavily defended area. Yet, his arm strength was remarkable. He threw deep passes all game, some sailing over his receivers’ heads, others falling incomplete despite hitting their targets.
But on the other side, Jadyn Davis’ windup was a major issue. “But you talk about the long release and the windup—in college football, with how quickly these guys break on the b–l,. And that happened in this game when it comes to the spring game. What you saw from Jadyn Davis—taking strides. The spring game, though, if you were to pick a winner of the quarterback battle from the spring game, it would be Bryce Underwood.” Look, it’s not like Davis is totally out of the picture, but the spring game gave a little extra edge to Underwood.
But then Michigan’s TE Jalen Hoffman talks about how hard it is to cope against the new system and says, “Our defense throws a lot of looks, blitzes, and stuff like that. It’s hard to pick up, especially coming in young, both those guys being young. Being able to pick that up and know what’s coming and being able to get the b–l out and get to spots all the time is really what I see them doing all the time, every day.” And let’s not forget Jadyn has an entire fall camp to prove his worth.
Now, there’s another QB who’s waiting in the sidelines to make an impact, but it looks like things aren’t going his way this spring season.
Sherrone Moore stands on a tough spot with Mikey Kenny’s injury
Michigan added former Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene this winter, expecting him to compete with Bryce Underwood and Jadyn Davis for the starting spot. His experience, proven track record, and close relationship with new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey made him a strong contender.
However, a surprise injury sidelined Keene throughout spring practice. While he’s recently resumed throwing, he missed the spring game. Despite this, coach Sherrone Moore remains affirmative that missing spring game will not affect his performance. “(Keene got hurt) right before the spring that kind of came upon us, (we) handled it,” Sherrone Moore said.
“He’s doing well now, he’s throwing, he’s in a good place and just didn’t (feel) like pushing it to end the spring that way, so he’s in a great place. I did a study about guys who’s played the most college snaps in football and he’s played like 2,228 snaps in college football, so he’s okay to miss the spring.” Keene narrowly missed Moore’s snap count expectation.
Pro Football Focus shows 2,233 career snaps, starting at UCF in 2021. He played 584 as a freshman, overcame injuries in 2022, then logged 713 and 744 snaps in 2023 and 2024, respectively. This experience explains Moore and Lindsey’s confidence in recruiting him. Beyond the snaps and impressive stats – 8,245 passing yards and 65 touchdowns – Keene’s familiarity with Lindsey’s system is a huge advantage.
Their prior UCF collaboration means he’s already mentoring Michigan’s younger quarterbacks. “I go into those quarterback meeting rooms and (Keene is) like a coach,” Moore explained. “He’s run a lot of the stuff that Chip’s done before, so that’s been cool watching him teach those young guys. But he’s just played college football for (so long) — he’s got a pretty good grasp of how to execute our playbook.”
Although Mikey Keene hasn’t played a down for the Wolverines, he’s already making an impact. He might return to his best form till the fall camp. Until then, he’s acting as an extra coach, and his experience and intelligence could make the quarterback competition much more intense once he’s cleared for full-blown action.
The post Bryce Underwood’s Michigan Fate Confirmed by National Reporter’s Clear Verdict After Sherrone Moore’s Big Mikey Keene Injury Update appeared first on EssentiallySports.
