Kyle Whittingham details Bryce Underwood's fall camp progress

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The whole college football world is curious: can Bryce Underwood improve upon his first year and actually live somewhat up to the lofty expectations foisted upon him?

Underwood had an up-and-down year in his freshman campaign, as he was thrown into the fire without much guidance in an offense that didn't fully utilize his skills. As the season progressed, his mechanics and footwork became untenable, while his decision-making wasn't exactly as sharp as it was earlier in the year.

Thus, he had his work cut out for him. But, according to Michigan football head coach Kyle Whittingham, he's progressing very well over the course of fall camp.

Whittingham said on Monday that Underwood has improved in several areas this offseason. What he's seeing from him now is someone who is starting to understand the game more, and he's making better choices with the football in his hand.

"First of all, his grasp of the offense overall," Whittingham said. "I think that's the thing that has allowed him to play faster. The grasp of the offense has allowed him to speed everything up. His clock in head is working faster. He's making really good decisions. He's taking good care of the football. He has just been on an upward trajectory all fall camp and has really started to come into his own. 

"I don't want to get too ahead of things because we've still got two weeks before we play and a lot of work to do between now and then. But he has been very positive. His progress has been very positive this fall camp."

Considering that one of Underwood's issues was his footwork, that's been a point of emphasis for the coaching staff. While they're well aware that they won't exactly know what they have until the live bullets are flying, there are some encouraging signs that many of the issues that plagued the former five-star have been, indeed, fixed.

"His general footwork overall has definitely improved," Whittingham said. "Now, will it stay improved when things are live? He hasn't been hit all fall camp, nor will he be hit until the first game -- if he doesn't get hit much in that game. But you can definitely see improvement already. 

"The biggest thing I see is stepping into his throws. He was a little skittish throwing off the back foot and kind of leaning back. He's already doing a good job of climbing the pocket, stepping into his throws, and much better with his delivery mechanics as well as his feet and better decision-making, like I said. Jason's doing a really nice job of morphing the offense to what Bryce does best."

If Underwood is able to deliver more on target and raise his completion percentage from 60% to say 65-70%, it could be a huge boon for a Michigan offense that still is looking to keep up with some of the other elite schools in the conference. We'll know more come September 5, when the Wolverines host Western Michigan at The Big House.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham details Bryce Underwood's fall camp progress