Michigan benched starting quarterback Bryce Underwood at halftime against Penn State on Saturday, turning to true freshman Tommy Carr while trailing 3-0.
Underwood struggled against the Nittany Lions, completing 5 of 11 passes for 43 yards, rushing for 11 yards and throwing two interceptions. His second pick ended a potential scoring drive that had reached Penn State's 36-yard line in the final minute of the second quarter.
Michigan replaced him with Carr, the grandson of legendary Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and younger brother of Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr. The former three-star recruit had played in just one game so far for the Wolverines entering the day.
Underwood, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 SC Next 300, is off to an inconsistent start in his first six games under Whittingham and new offensive coordinator Jason Beck. He has thrown for 924 yards on 58% passing with seven total touchdowns and eight turnovers to start his sophomore campaign.
After Michigan opened Big Ten play with back-to-back losses to Iowa and Minnesota to drop to 3-2, Whittingham said earlier this week he was sticking with Underwood as his starter coming out of the team's bye week.
The top-ranked quarterback prospect from Belleville, Michigan, flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan in November 2024, and became the highest-rated offensive signee in program history.
Underwood started all 13 games for the Wolverines in 2025 and produced 2,428 passing yards, 392 rushing yards, 17 total touchdowns and 11 turnovers while leading the team to a 9-4 season and No. 21 finish in the AP Top 25.