Urban Meyer Says Michigan's Only 'First-Round Athlete' Is Bryce Underwood
Urban Meyer called Michigan "a train wreck right now" while breaking down the Wolverines' 20-14 loss to Minnesota on "The Triple Option" podcast. The former Ohio State head coach and three-time national champion was covering Saturday's game for Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff" when he delivered his blunt assessment.
Meyer pointed to one bright spot on the field. "The only first-round athlete on the field is Bryce Underwood," he said.
When host Rob Stone noted that Underwood wouldn't be drafted in the first round as a quarterback, Meyer was quick to clarify. "No, no, no, no. I said first-round athlete," he responded.
The distinction mattered to Meyer, who saw a roster short on high-end talent. He name-checked JJ Buchanan and Andrew Marsh as "good players" but stopped short of praising them as future draft picks. "I don't see first-rounders out there bouncing around there like you're used to seeing with the Wolverines. Or even second-rounders," Meyer said.
WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FIELD
The numbers behind Saturday’s loss were stark. Michigan fell to Minnesota 20-14, dropping its second straight Big Ten game.
The offense managed just 180 total yards. Bryce Underwood threw for 101 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
The sophomore’s season numbers tell a slightly different story. Underwood has completed 59.3 percent of his passes with five touchdowns in as many games.
But the stat line from Saturday left Meyer searching for answers beyond the quarterback position. He watched closely as the offense sputtered, and what he saw bothered him.
“I didn’t see the energy,” Meyer said of Michigan’s sideline.
The loss marked the second consecutive conference defeat for the Wolverines, a slide that has exposed deeper issues than one player’s performance.
THE TALENT DEBATE
Meyer said he didn't see first-rounders — or even second-rounders — "bouncing around there like you're used to seeing with the Wolverines." He singled out JJ Buchanan and Andrew Marsh as "good players," but he stopped short of calling either high-end draft talent.
"Maybe I'm missing something, but we've watched them closely now, and the only first-round athlete on the field is Bryce Underwood," Meyer said.
Host Rob Stone remarked that he was dismayed by the lack of "dudes" on Michigan's roster while working Saturday's game, and Meyer concurred.
The former Ohio State coach wasn't just talking about the box score. He said he was scanning the field during plays, searching for something specific.
"I was staring. You know, plays are going on, and I'm staring because I did that for so long. I'm saying, 'Where are the grown a** men?'" Meyer said. "And I didn't feel it. I didn't see it when there had to be a big stop."
That last detail — the big stop — cuts to the heart of Meyer's critique. Michigan's defense couldn't get off the field when it mattered, and Meyer saw a roster that lacked the physical presence he expects from the Wolverines' brand of football.
Even when Stone pressed on Underwood's professional future, Meyer drew a clear line. The quarterback wouldn't be a first-round draft pick at his position, Meyer agreed, but that didn't change his assessment of Underwood's raw athletic ability.
"I said first-round athlete," Meyer said.
The distinction matters. Meyer sees elite physical tools in Underwood but a supporting cast that doesn't measure up to Michigan's usual standard.
NOT ALL ON UNDERWOOD
Meyer was explicit that Underwood is not the root of Michigan’s problems. "This is not all on him," Meyer said of the sophomore quarterback.
The former coach argued the position itself distorts how Underwood is judged. "Unfortunately, he plays that position that is all on him," Meyer said. "You know, whenever they win, the quarterback gets too much glory, and when they lose, they get too much blame."
What troubled Meyer more was what he saw away from the ball. He said he didn't feel the presence of difference-makers on the sideline during the loss to Minnesota.
"But that sideline, I just didn’t feel the dudes anywhere," Meyer said. "And I was looking. I was staring. You know, plays are going on, and I’m staring because I did that for so long. I’m saying, 'Where are the grown a** men?' And I didn’t feel it. I didn’t see it when there had to be a big stop. I didn’t see the energy."
For a program the article calls a perennial college powerhouse, Meyer described the issue as team-wide and unfamiliar. The blame, he suggested, belongs across the roster, not on one quarterback's stat line.
Underwood's numbers this season — a 59.3% completion rate with five touchdowns in as many games — reflect a player still developing. But Meyer's assessment points at the talent around him as the more pressing concern.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Michigan now faces a two-game Big Ten losing streak, and the questions Meyer raised will follow the team into its next stretch of games. The roster issues he described are not the kind that get fixed in a single week of practice.
Fans watching the Wolverines go forward should track two things closely: Underwood's development and the energy on the sideline. Meyer said he did not see either against Minnesota, and both will be under scrutiny until Michigan shows a response.
The program faces questions about talent depth beyond the quarterback position, per Meyer's comments. He named JJ Buchanan and Andrew Marsh as "good players," but his broader point was that the usual first- and second-round talent you expect from the Wolverines was not visible on the field.
The source does not mention Michigan's next opponent or any specific upcoming game date, so the immediate schedule remains unconfirmed. What is clear is that the team will need to address its roster issues, and Meyer's assessment suggests that process may take longer than one game.
For Underwood, the scrutiny will only intensify. A 59.3% completion rate with five touchdowns in as many games shows flashes, but Saturday's two interceptions and 101-yard outing keep the quarterback in the spotlight. Meyer's point, though, was that the spotlight should be wider.
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