While all signs point to Bryce Underwood as Michigan Football’s future at the quarterback position, it might be a bit too soon to give up on Jadyn Davis:
For the second straight season, we’re still waiting to see who will start at quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines in the fall. Mikey Keene and No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood seem like the best bets — Keene has plenty of experience and leadership, while Underwood has the most upside.
Keene vs. Underwood will be the storyline of the offseason, which begs the question — are we giving up too soon on Jadyn Davis? While I think discussing Underwood/Keene the most is justified, it still feels too early to say the coaches won’t use Davis at all this season.
One thing that stood out about Davis during the spring game was his awareness. He was able to get the defense to jump offsides and get a free play to wide receiver Donaven McCulley. Being able to take advantage of those situations can be huge in an actual game setting.I’m not saying it’s enough for him to pass up the other two, but it’s nice to see Davis is taking steps forward and cerebral enough to make a nice play like that.
Davis also took quite a few more snaps directly under center. Some of these looks allowed his squad to pick up some big runs, including one by running back Bryson Kuzdzal. The mix of plays under center and in the shotgun is something we should expect to see this fall no matter who the starting quarterback is.
Meanwhile, we saw some of Underwood’s youth on display with delay of game penalties and a fumbled snap. Davis had a cleaner game regarding the penalties — little things like that make a big difference. Underwood’s potential is limitless, but he’s also young and has the potential to take a sack and lose even more yards when a more veteran quarterback might be able to avoid it.
In fact, Davis had a play in the third quarter where he had to reel in a high snap. He tucked it to try and run, but took a sack instead. When it comes to processing the game and reacting to plays not panning out perfectly, Davis showed progress from last season’s spring game to this one.
Both quarterbacks had turnovers, and while that’s probably one of the most discouraging things to come out of the spring game, it gives the room something to learn from and work on this summer and in fall camp.
Davis also showed confidence when it comes to making his reads downfield. He had a few missed opportunities, but he kept his eyes down the field instead of tucking the ball and running.
In case it’s still not clear, this isn’t a hot take that Davis is going to win the starting job. I’m not even saying he’ll play at all this year. To me, it just seems a bit too early to rule him out of the competition.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.