Michigan Football: Sherrone Moore talks early spring impressions of Bryce Underwood, Mikey Keene

ANN ARBOR – Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore spoke to the media on Monday at Schembechler Hall as the team prepares for its fourth day of spring practices on Tuesday.

Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood has been a main topic of discussion thus far as the face of U-M’s re-shaped position group. The chance for him to enroll early and get his feet wet in the offense is something Moore does not take care granted.

“I think just early enrollees in general, it’s a great thing for the game and for those players to be able to come in and… not only just for football, for school, be able to handle school, be able to maneuver in school and know where your classes are, but for him and all the quarterbacks, it’s been good,” Moore said. “

“Adjusting to things and doing things a little bit differently, but he’s done well. He works his tail off. He’s in here late, in here early, and, you know, those guys have really worked hard to compete at that position.”

Michigan does not have a set pecking order for how its signal-callers are repping this spring. All players are getting the chance to work with the 1s, 2s, 3s, etc. as the staff looks to set a foundation heading into the summer.

“They’re all practicing. They’re all going,” Moore said. “So everybody gets reps with the ones. Everybody gets reps with the twos. Everybody gets reps with the threes. And at the end of the day, all the reps are pretty balanced. We’ll figure out who the starter is when we feel like we’ve gotten to that point.

“It’s ay three, again, but guys have been making plays, so it’s just been everybody gets even reps throughout practice.”

What U-M saw in Mikey Keene

Underwood is expected to be in a two-man battle for the starting quarterback job with Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene, who U-M had the chance to scout and play against in the 2024 season opener. He was on Moore’s radar long before he became available in the transfer portal, the head coach says.

“I think the first thing we saw was when we played against him,” Moore said. “I remember watching him in the summer. I said, damn, this kid’s pretty good. We’ve got to deal with this dude in game one. He’s making all these throws. He’s experienced.

“I did a study of all the guys that had the most snaps, and he’s played the most snaps in college football on our team, over 2,000-something snaps. A guy that’s played a lot of football, understands the moments, understands the big moments, understands what it takes to be really good. He’s been a great addition for our football program.”

There is a contrast in styles in how both players are built and operate. Underwood operates at 6-4, 208 pounds as a dual-threat guy who uses his legs to make plays. Keene stands 5-11, 200 pounds and is more crafty than he is mobile.

“Obviously, size is a little different,” Moore said. “But talk about a guy that knows the game, extremely intelligent, wants to be a coach after he gets done playing. So the experience piece is the biggest piece there.”

Michigan’s starting quarterback battle won’t be rushed

With Michigan starting from zero on offense and with its quarterbacks, there is not going to be a rush to find answers or figure out who starts the season opener.

“The guy that’s making the most plays, that has the command of the offense and command of the team, because it can’t just be the offense. It’s got to be both sides of the ball,” Moore said. “So we’ll know whenever that happens, not in a rush to make that decision.

“It’s been a great competition so far. But it’s been awesome to watch those guys. They’re so together. It’s a room that’s together and that understands it and support each other, which is really cool to see… I feel like those guys are competing at a high level, but they’re still collaborative at the same time.”