The expectations for Michigan football quarterback Bryce Underwood were through the roof in 2025.

Much of that came from his ranking, coming into Ann Arbor as the No. 1 high school product in the nation. Some of it came from his own doing — like going on Big Ten Network last August and proclaiming “nobody has seen a freshman like me.”

The talented signal-caller did not live up to the hype in Year 1. Not only as a team — Michigan went 9-4 and missed the College Football Playoff for the second straight season — but individually, where Underwood completed just 60.3% of his passes for 2,428 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Now with a year under his belt, Underwood kept it simple when asked what he expects going into year two.

“Better than Year 1,” he told reporters at Saline High School on Saturday, June 20, where he hosted a youth football camp. “That’s really all I can say.”

Underwood has been taking the steps behind the scenes to make it happen. He didn’t explain exactly how he got connected, but he made sure to get in contact with Jordan Palmer, a California-based QB guru, where he’s gone for multiple training sessions.

The Belleville native called Palmer one of the “best trainers around the country” and said it’s been a “blessing” to get to work with him. He says his focus this summer has been simple − training, spending time with family and jelling with teammates − but he’s already learning new lessons, much of which isn’t as much focused on the physical side, but mental.

“How to simplify the game for myself, how easy I can make the game,” he said. “[Focusing on] the consistency in everything I have going on, so that was really my main focus this offseason.”

Underwood also acknowledged Year 1 wasn’t what he expected it would be. He went 50-4 at Belleville, led the Tigers to their first undefeated season in school history (2023), was Gatorade National Player of the Year that season and MaxPreps National Freshman (2021) and Sophomore (2022) of the Year the two years prior.

There had been very few learning lessons or moments of failure, but the Big Ten proved to be a different animal. While his physical tools are widely considered enough to be a solid player − or even elite − Underwood said there were more cerebral requirements than what he expected.

“How much the mental aspect of the game really matters,” Underwood said of what he learned. “How mentally stable you [have] to be, how mentally strengthened.”

Recently, new head coach Kyle Whittingham told the Free Press he felt like Underwood had a “pretty tough situation” in his first season. Much of that was due to not having a dedicated position coach on staff, which is a major reason Whittingham hired Koy Detmer Jr. to lead the quarterbacks room in Ann Arbor.

Underwood says the relationship is already off to a good start.

“That’s my guy,” he said of Detmer. “We talk every single day, how we can be better as a player and coach and how we’re going to produce on the field.”

A Minnesota man was arrested in Wisconsin on allegations of multiple criminal sexual conduct charges against a child.

Nathan Brase, 33, of Minnesota, was arrested in Medford, Wisconsin, on Thursday after an arrest warrant was issued. According to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, the warrant was issued following an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation by the Two Rivers Police Department

That investigation reportedly led to Brase facing what authorities say are “numerous” felony charges, including exposing his genitals to a child and grooming a child for sexual activity.

Brase is currently being housed in the Taylor County Jail, awaiting extradition.

One person was killed and five others were wounded in a shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, Friday night, according to police.

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Officers heard gunfire just before 10:30 p.m. and responded to the area of East 19th Street between The Paseo and Vine Street, police said. They located two adult women who were “conscious and alert,” along with an adult man who was unresponsive, the Kansas City Police Department said in a statement.

The man, identified as David E. Beck III, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene. The two women were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Three additional victims — a man and a woman in stable condition and another man in critical condition — arrived at the hospital in a private vehicle, police said.

Preliminary information indicates the victims were gathered along 19th Street when multiple people opened fire. “All of the victims appear to have been standing in this vicinity when they were struck,” police said. Detectives are processing evidence and interviewing witnesses. No suspects are in custody.

The shooting took place roughly 7 miles from Arrowhead Stadium, which is hosting World Cup matches this summer under the name Kansas City Stadium. Ecuador and Curaçao are scheduled to play there Saturday night. Kansas City is touted as the “Soccer Capital of America.”

The city already has a large law enforcement presence to assist with World Cup security, including officers from all over the Midwest, Kansas City Police Capt. Jake Becchina told NBC News.

“We have the largest police presence we have ever had in our city for an event,” Becchina said.