Michigan defensive coach raves about Bryce Underwood's progress

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- One of the best barometers for how a quarterback is performing in a training camp scenario is how tough his throws are to defend. And for Michigan football QB Bryce Underwood, they're becoming increasingly more difficult to get to in fall camp. At least for those defensive backs tasked with trying to take the ball away or break up passes.

Early in camp, Underwood was throwing his fair share of picks, which is to be expected. But the windows are getting smaller, the throws are becoming crisper and more accurate, and he's getting to a point where the cornerbacks for the Wolverines have little they can do.

In fact, it's the in-house competition that believes the most in Underwood's fall camp surge.

"You know what? Night and day, night and day," Michigan cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford said. "From spring ball to now, man, the last month, just starting fall camp, he's made so many amazing throws. Like wild throws, had us in awe. He's doing stuff like that. He's going to be all right. And knowing what our defense does to opposing quarterbacks, to see him make certain throws against us makes us pretty confident in that young man."

The offensive staff hadn't given any indication previously that they were unhappy with Underwood's progress, and they're still pretty effusive in their praise. But his direct coach, Koy Detmer Jr., says that it isn't just about where he is in his development; they're happy with how much he's improved over time.

And now, looking back, it's pretty clear just how far along he has come.

"Going back to spring -- and I know Coach Beck's kind of talked a little bit about it -- just felt like there was maybe some little more ups and downs from day to day," Detmer said. "And really challenged Bryce over the month of May and over the summer just to really put in the extra work -- both with his footwork, pocket presence, and different things of that nature. And to his credit, man, he hit it head-on and worked his tail off, got a lot of really good work in May, really good work in the summer, and was able to carry that into camp. 

"And I'd say the biggest thing that I've noticed over these last couple weeks is just his comfortability in the pocket, in the system. It was a new system, and we threw everything at him. And to his credit, he took all that knowledge in at a really fast pace and did a really good job with it. And now, having a second time around with it going into fall camp, just felt like things were moving a lot slower for him. He's a lot more comfortable, and specifically with his feet and his pocket presence, felt like he was in a really good spot and has done a good job."

Michigan will have its first test on September 5 when it hosts Western Michigan, but it will get tougher the following week, when Brent Venables and Oklahoma come to The Big House.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan defensive coach raves about Bryce Underwood's progress