Eric Weddle, a retired NFL All-Pro safety who played for Kyle Whittingham at Utah, visited his former coach’s new program this spring and wasn’t impressed with Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood.
Weddle first voiced his skepticism about Underwood on the “Zero 2 Sixty” podcast, saying, “Don’t be surprised if the backup’s playing early because that Underwood kid, I don’t think he can throw or play quarterback.” Weddle clarified those comments Tuesday on “The Rich Eisen Show” but didn’t back down from his original criticism.
“I don’t take back what I said,” Weddle told Eisen. “Hearing it doesn’t come off very well, but the point is, you have to play quarterback a certain way to win a national championship. My understanding of Michigan is they expect national championships. These kids are paid to play a certain way. What I saw from two games last year, and (when) I went out to spring ball, I saw not very good QB play.”
Weddle, who was named to the Pro Bowl six times during a 14-year NFL career with the Chargers, Ravens and Rams, is one of the most high-profile figures to express doubts about Underwood, the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 recruiting class. Weddle’s comments gained extra attention because of his connection to Whittingham, who was Utah’s head coach for Weddle’s final two seasons at Utah.
Underwood had an up-and-down freshman season that included a three-interception performance against Texas in the Citrus Bowl and an 8-for-18 showing for 63 yards against Ohio State. Whittingham backed Underwood as Michigan’s starting quarterback before the Wolverines opened spring practice and stuck by that assessment after Underwood was 3-for-9 for 22 yards in Michigan’s spring game, saying, “Bryce is our starter right now.”
Weddle visited Michigan with his son Gaige, a top 2028 prospect who plays safety and quarterback. Weddle came away unconvinced that Underwood is poised for a breakthrough in his second season as a starter.
“Is he talented? Yes. Is he a freak of nature? Yeah. No one’s denying that,” Weddle told Eisen. “I’m not naive to that, but I do know what high-level championship quarterback play looks like. I tried stopping these guys my whole career. My expectation when I watch quarterbacks is, ‘Can he lead this team to a championship or not?’”
Michigan made a splash by signing Underwood to an NIL deal valued at more than $10 million over multiple years. Underwood started all 13 games for the Wolverines, but concerns about his development were growing before Michigan fired Sherrone Moore and hired Whittingham, who brought offensive coordinator Jason Beck from Utah to run the Wolverines offense.
Shortly after Weddle went public with his criticism, Underwood posted a laughing emoji on Instagram with the message, “keep zzz,” short for “keep sleeping.”
“I know the coaches there are coaching and doing the best they can,” Weddle said. “I don’t know (Underwood) from anything. I just go off of what I see, and what I saw was not good.”
