For those watching the World Cup the past couple weeks, many of the stadiums are quite familiar (sans sponsor names, of course). 11 of the 16 venues are in the United States, with all of the American venues currently home to NFL franchises: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles x2, Miami, New England, New York x2, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Michigan
Michigan Congressman abandons town hall after ‘ceasefire now’ chants
Constituents at Congressman’s town hall demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The representative ended up leaving the meeting. | Michigan Communist Party USA via X (formerly Twitter)
WYANDOTTE, Mich. — U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) left his own Town Hall meeting early Saturday in what could only be described as a political disaster. His exit came after a room full of his constituents began chanting “Ceasefire now!” in response to the lawmaker’s refusal to call for an immediate end to the Israeli government’s genocidal military campaign in Palestine.
Even before the event at the Downriver Council for the Arts here began, Thanedar was grilled about his continued political support for the Biden Administration’s blank-check for Israel’s invasion.
It was clear the majority of attendees, passionate and determined, were there to press their representative for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. With picket signs, pro-Palestine, pro-peace and anti-war buttons in abundance, the residents of Michigan’s 13th Congressional District were prepared for non-violent, peaceful confrontation and strong political messaging.
Taj, wearing a UAW Detroit Axle jacket and a fourth generation Detroiter, told People’s World he showed up to speak on the issues most important to his neighborhood and petition for peace in Gaza. Tax dollars, he said, that are being used for weapons to Israel would be better used to fund poverty alleviation programs here in Detroit.
“Economic growth in the city is not benefiting the legacy, majority Black, population,” Taj added, and instead is benefitting the largest corporations and billionaires.” He hopes Rep. Thanedar will pressure President Joe Biden to call for an immediate ceasefire.
“I’m here to push you to call for an immediate ceasefire,” Leslie, another resident in the 13th District, said. “We want our tax dollars spent on Detroit…for affordable housing, for schools…it is so sad they are being used for genocide.”
Money for schools, not for war
“Why are we not calling for a ceasefire and redirecting military funds to our schools?” Angela from Hamtramck, a public-school teacher and a member of the Teachers Union, asked. “I am working multiple jobs, I spend my ‘time-off’ caring for my students who live in poverty, who have nowhere to go after class, who have nothing to eat, and yet we always have money for war.”
People’s World spoke with another Teachers Union member, a middle school teacher, who drove out on a Saturday morning to the meeting to “be the political voice for her students,” the majority of whom are Muslim and Arab-American. Michigan’s 13th Congressional District is home to the largest Arab population in the United States, but the teacher reported that many of her students feel “voiceless in the face of the on-going catastrophe.”
“The school administration told us that we weren’t allowed to talk about the conflict in class,” continued the teacher who asked not to be named for this story, “But I let my kids talk about it anyway. It’s important for them to express their justified concerns about seeing their peers being killed by bombs, entire schools leveled, on television.”
War is never a solution
“War is never a solution,” Congressman Thanedar said many times during the Town Hall.
“I am not here to defend Israel,” he said. “How do you justify killing off 26,000 people? There is no justification for that. I don’t know how to justify that.”
However, by not calling for an immediate ceasefire and a political solution, Thanedar is supporting not only war, but the most heinous atrocities, war crimes, and genocide being committed by Israel in their war against the Palestinian people, many constituents said.
“You just said war is not the solution, but you continue to support the funding of Israel’s war,” an audience member said. “Israel is committing war crimes, and you are standing behind them. It seems like your words are empty.”
Noelle, a member of the Detroit News Guild and also a resident of the 13th District, pointed to the recent decision by the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to take “all measures to prevent genocidal acts, prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide, and take immediate and effective steps to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.”
Thanedar responded he will only call for a ceasefire when the Israeli hostages are released. He made no mention of the Palestinian prisoners.
Only an immediate ceasefire and an end to the occupation will facilitate the conditions necessary to “release all hostages and the more than 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners currently being held in Israeli prisons. Why haven’t you called for that?” Noelle demanded to know.
No functioning hospitals remaining
Zaya Maqdessi, a social worker and another resident of the 13th District who works in the field of maternal and infant mental health, told People’s World that in Gaza there were 36 hospitals just a few months ago and now there are none.
Maqdessi was born in Baghdad and shared a story of how, during the U.S. war on Iraq, her father, even while in a hospital, would constantly fear an incoming U.S. missile headed straight towards them. “I implore you to call for an immediate ceasefire and to end the blockade of Gaza so that the people there may stop being massacred, so that they may begin the very long journey of healing and rebuilding,” Maqdessi told Thanedar.
Ceasefire now!
After Thanedar attempted to redirect the barrage of ceasefire and pro-peace questions towards lectures on “terrorism” and “self-defense, Hasan Newash, a Nakba survivor and prominent Palestinian-American activist in Detroit, told the congressman: “We don’t want to be taught. We don’t need to be taught. You keep trying to teach us.” He continued, “We want to teach you!” Why aren’t you listening to us? Why aren’t you calling for a ceasefire? Ceasefire now!”
A wave erupted among the constituents, following Newash’s remarks with clapping and shouting in unison, “Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now!” Newash joined in. This went on for several minutes as Thanedar awkwardly walked back and forth, up and down the aisles of chairs, waiting for the chanting to end.
Suddenly, another contingent of activists, coming from the Pro-Palestine rally outside, walked in and joined the chorus of peace constituents demanding that Thanedar call for an immediate ceasefire. He stood there momentarily and abruptly exited his own Town Hall.
Out of touch
Most attendees felt that Thanedar is out of touch with his district. “He literally turning his back on his constituents,” said one.
Major municipalities in the region have passed resolutions calling for a ceasefire, including Hamtramck, Detroit, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Wayne County, Ann Arbor, Canton, Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County. Additionally, the UAW International is officed in downtown Detroit. The union recently joined the ceasefire movement, publishing a statement calling for a “permanent and lasting ceasefire.”
Next door, in the 12th Congressional District, Rep. Rashida Tlaib is leading the effort with Rep. Cori Bush (Dem. Mo.) to pass a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives calling for an immediate ceasefire. Attendees at Saturday’s town hall lobbied Thanedar to sign on to that resolution, H.Res. 786, but after today’s events it appears he does not have the political will to do so.
Political troubles
Politically, this sample showing is not a good sign for Biden’s re-election chances in Michigan. With the exception of Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in the U.S. Congress, and others such as U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-Mich. 6th District), many elected officials and politicians in Michigan have opted to remain silent on the situation in Gaza.
Senior representatives from the Biden campaign had sought to visit Dearborn, Michigan on Friday to speak with Arab and Muslim community leaders in an effort to garner support for his re-election bid. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, along with several others, refused to meet with them.
“What do I tell my residents? My residents who have lost loved ones overseas,” Hammoud told reporters. “This is not the time to talk about elections. This is the time to ask and demand for an immediate cease fire.”
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As a fun fact, Michigan has played games in a few of these stadiums, including the Peach Bowl loss to Florida in Atlanta, a couple season openers in Dallas, multiple Orange Bowls in Miami, and — of course — the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Houston.
How about the reverse? The Big House is not amongst the 11 U.S. World Cup locations, but it has hosted four different soccer matches over the past 12 years. All of these were preseason friendlies, with most involving some of the biggest brands in the entire sport. In honor of the current soccer craze, we briefly revisit these four fixtures.
2014: Manchester United 3-1 Real Madrid
Unsurprisingly when these two clubs share a pitch, but the inaugural soccer match at Michigan Stadium set the record for attendance in U.S. soccer history with a crowd over 109,000. An Ashley Young brace helped the English side win the contest, with Gareth Bale the lone goal scorer for Madrid; Cristiano Ronaldo was recovering from an injury, but he did make a cameo.
Hosting the biggest Premier League brand and the reigning Champions League winners was exactly the splash Michigan wanted to make. This is probably the greatest of the four friendlies in terms of prestige, with world-class talent filling both XIs.
2016: Real Madrid 3-2 Chelsea
Madrid returned to Ann Arbor a couple years later, again coming off a Champions League title — and on its way to win its second of three straight. Marcelo was the one with the brace this time, with Eden Hazard scoring twice late for the Blues, who came up just short of the win.
Chelsea was reeling from a horrendous domestic campaign that saw the 2014-15 champions fall all the way down to 10th place the following season. It was an immediate bounce back, however, as the London side would reclaim the crown in 2016-17, perhaps inspired by the friendly defeat to Madrid??
2018: Liverpool 4-1 Manchester United
It was an all-English affair in 2018, with the Premier League runner-up, Manchester United, taking on the Champions League runner-up, Liverpool. These historic rivals were both heading into the season with strong expectations, but it was the Reds who ended up meeting the task, falling a point short of Manchester City domestically, but winning the Champions League.
In terms of the match on campus, it was all Liverpool as well. A pair of penalties was enough for Liverpool, as four different players got on the scoresheet such as Sadio Mane and Daniel Sturridge. It was also a third-straight crowd of over 100,000 in the Big House.
2019: Barcelona 4-0 Napoli
The fourth and final European contest at Michigan Stadium was the second leg of something called the 2019 La Liga-Serie A Cup. Barcelona was the reigning La Liga champion and cruised to a 4-0 victory thanks to goals from superstars Luis Suarez (x2), Antoine Griezmann, and Ousmane Dembele.
Napoli is certainly the “smallest” brand to play at the Big House, but are far from obscure. The Italian side has won Serie A twice since its contest in Ann Arbor, and ended up winning the Coppa Italia in the season following this friendly.
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield makes an endorsement for governor
Sheffield endorsed longtime colleague Jocelyn Benson at an event in Detroit.
Lansing — Two surveys from a longtime Michigan pollster set off a battle last week among campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate, with some factions claiming the results should be deemed misleading and untrustworthy.
The dispute centered on polls conducted by Mitchell Research & Communications, which attempted to examine voters’ feelings about the GOP primary race for governor and the Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate.
However, some prominent political figures noted that Mitchell Research contacted participants through text messages that directed them to an online SurveyMonkey poll and the links could have been shared broadly with a particular candidate’s supporters.
In an interview, Steve Mitchell of Mitchell Research acknowledged the links were shareable but said some of the allegations against his polling methods were “bulls—.” He also defended his record as a pollster.
“Who was ranked 13th most accurate in U.S. in 2024 by ActiVote, a third party firm Higher than WAPO, ABC, CNN, NY Times, SurveyUSA?” Mitchell asked, referring to himself, on X amid a barrage of criticism Wednesday night.
In response, political consultant Adrian Hemond wrote, “Address the methodology flaw in your polls bro. You sent out shareable links. Casting bones or divination would be more legitimate.”
Mitchell released the gubernatorial poll on Monday. It showed U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, former Attorney General Mike Cox of Livonia and businessman Perry Johnson of Bloomfield Hills in a close race.
Johnson’s adviser, John Yob, slammed the Mitchell poll as an “easily corrupted trash methodology.”
Despite the methodology questions, the results were covered by a number of news outlets in Michigan. Yob called on them to issue retractions.
The Capitol newsletter Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS) News, which works with Mitchell on polling, reported that in the survey, the fourth GOP candidate, state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt of Van Buren County, was getting 0% in west Michigan, close to his home territory that he represented for 14 years in the Legislature.
MIRS News covered the governor poll but declined to report on the U.S. Senate poll the following day, despite the fact that Mitchell initially said MIRS News had “sponsored” the polls.
In the interview, Mitchell told The Detroit News that he actually paid for the polls and simply provided them to MIRS News.
“I am curious,” Mitchell said. “I run a polling company. So I paid for the poll.”
His Senate poll showed Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor with a lead over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak in a distant third place at 6%. Most polls have had McMorrow much closer to Stevens and El-Sayed.
Kyle Melinn, the editor of MIRS News, acknowledged to Politico that he decided not to publish the poll, in part, because of pressure from McMorrow’s campaign.
“I told Steve (Mitchell) that the (McMorrow) campaign did raise issues with the poll, and that they were pressuring me to not run the poll,” Melinn told Politico.
Despite the basement-level showing for McMorrow, one of Stevens’ advisers even questioned the poll results.
“This methodology does seem pretty bad!” Stevens adviser Caitlin Legacki wrote on X.
Mitchell’s memo on the Senate primary credited left-wing commentator Hasan Piker as “probably a primary reason for El-Sayed’s movement upward.” A May Mitchell poll had El-Sayed at 28%, while the June poll had him at 42%.
However, Piker visited Michigan in April, before both polls.
The new poll also found El-Sayed getting 67% of the support in Detroit, much higher than people would expect. When he ran for governor in 2018 in another three-way primary race, he got 26% of the vote in Detroit.
House blocks Pride Month resolution; Hall says it’s ‘divisive’
House Democrats read a resolution Wednesday recognizing June 2026 as Pride Month from the front steps of the state Capitol after Republican House Speaker Matt Hall, for the second year running, would not hold a vote on the resolution.
“We would be thrilled if they would like to pass this resolution before the end of June,” said state Rep. Jason Morgan, D-Ann Arbor, a member of the LGBTQ+ Caucus. “That is still also an option we would welcome. But, so far, we’ve been met with silence as to whether this will be taken up or not.”
Hall told reporters Wednesday that he wasn’t taking the resolution up because he didn’t want to vote on divisive topics. He argued he also was not taking up a competing resolution for state Rep. Josh Shriver, R-Oxford, that recognized June as Nuclear Family Month.
“There’s divisive resolutions on the left and divisive resolutions on the right,” Hall said. “We’re not doing any of them. … What I’m trying to focus on is health care affordability, property tax cuts and getting the budget done.”
7th District Dems get ‘heavy’ Israel-Gaza question
Two of the three Democratic candidates seeking the 7th Congressional District seat did not directly answer a question Monday at a Latino community forum on whether Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide.
Former Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink of Lansing said she looks at the situation in terms of what is in the U.S.’s best interest, which is peace and security in the Middle East. To attain that, she said, a secure and democratic Israel must live side by side with a democratic Palestinian state free from terrorist influence.
“We should be very clear with our friends, we should be very clear with our partners in the region, that this is our goal and we’re going to work to ensure that we do that, for the stability of the region, for the people of Israel, for the Palestinian people, but also for the people of the United States,” Brink said.
Brink’s campaign did not respond this week when asked for a more direct answer to the question.
Former U.S. Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam of Ann Arbor Township noted it was a “heavy question” and argued the U.S. makes “tremendous” effort to avoid humanitarian crises or the loss of civilian life.
“When we work with another country, I expect our partners to do the same and hold themselves to the same standards that we hold ourselves,” Maasdam said, before describing the state of Israel as a partner that has a right to exist and right to defend itself.
Later in the week, Maasdam clarified in a statement that he did not believe Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had met those standards, but also did not think genocide was the right word “to describe the grave humanitarian disaster in Gaza.” Too much of politics had come become an “endless debate over labels instead of a serious effort to solve problems,” he said. He indicated he supported a two-state solution.
Community activist Will Lawrence of Lansing observed during the forum Monday that his competitors had failed to directly answer the question on whether Israel’s actions constituted genocide; the answer, he said, is “obviously yes.”
“When you have a state that has refused every other form of accountability and we continue to arm them, I don’t know how we can call ourselves a just nation if we continue to participate in this atrocity,” Lawrence said. He added he supports a lasting peace for all Palestinians and Israelis.
Heated moment at MI-10 GOP debate
Four candidates vying for a suburban Detroit U.S. House seat took the stage Tuesday at the Shelby Banquet Center for a Republican primary debate.
The event featured attorney Robert Lulgjuraj of Sterling Heights, Army veteran Michael Bouchard of Rochester Hills, attorney Justin Kirk of Clinton Township and Army veteran Steffan Demetropoulos of Macomb. They are running to replace outgoing Republican U.S. Rep. John James in Michigan’s only competitive GOP primary contest this year.
One of the more heated moments of the night came in a back-and-forth between Lulgjuraj and Bouchard, the contest’s two leading fundraisers.
Lulgjuraj called out Bouchard for his family’s political connections and cast himself — as he often does on the campaign trail — as the more “grassroots” option.
“If you want the son of a career 40-year politician who never endorsed Trump but endorsed Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush, your candidate’s there — or whose sister works at CNN, then this is your candidate,” Lulgjuraj said of Bouchard, referencing his father, longtime Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, and his sister, Mikayla Bouchard, who works for CNN as a senior director of editorial product strategy.
“But if you want to elect me, I knocked doors in this county for President Trump. I’m from this county,” Lulgjuraj added. “I’m gonna be a MAGA, grassroots warrior when I go to Congress. And I’m never gonna let you down.”
Bouchard took issue with those comments and fired back with allegations that Lulgjuraj lied about his residence on official campaign filings and committed tax fraud by accepting a property tax discount on a home he wasn’t living in.
“He attacked my sister. I’m gonna defend my family. If someone’s gonna go after my family, I’m gonna defend them. If someone goes after this country, I’m gonna defend you. He keeps getting up here and lying,” Bouchard said.
“He lied about where he lives. He committed tax fraud — there’s allegations he committed tax fraud. He admitted to it in The Detroit News,” the candidate added, referencing an interview Lulgjuraj gave regarding his residency and tax status. A challenge by Lulgjuraj’s opponents to get him off the ballot was ultimately unsuccessful.
The crowd booed Bouchard’s comments.
Cook bumps Huizenga seat in Dems’ favor
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report on Thursday shifted its rating for Michigan’s 4th District from “likely” to “lean” Republican in a nod to the poor environment that Republicans are facing in the fall midterm elections.
The seat is held by long-time U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, who ran ahead of President Donald Trump by more than 6 percentage points in 2024 when he won election to an eighth term.
Cook notes that Huizenga’s west Michigan district along the lakeshore has been inching to the left, with Ottawa County representing one of the few Michigan counties where Kamala Harris improved on Joe Biden’s margin.
The likely Democratic nominee, state Sen. Sean McCann of Kalamazoo, outraised Huizenga in the first quarter, and “… Republicans admit that they’re preparing for a close race.”
“But Huizenga, a senior member on the Financial Services Committee, should be able to turn on the fundraising spigot,” Cook’s Erin Covey wrote in her analysis. “He’s also a close ally of the cryptocurrency industry, which could have an incentive to spend for him this fall.”
McCann is on the ballot in the Democratic primary with Diop Harris, a Battle Creek native and former Capitol Hill staffer for former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
Covey said McCann’s major vulnerability could be his voting record in the Democratic-controlled state Senate, and Republicans have dubbed him ‘tax man McCann’ for voting for a new gas tax system and against property tax relief.
Democrats are expected to hit Huizenga for his votes on health care, including against extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits and cutting Medicaid in the One Big Beautiful Bill, Covey added.
Slotkin bill would keep troops from polls
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, introduced legislation Thursday that aims to keep the U.S. military or federal law enforcement from intervening in elections, she said.
The legislation requires a president to come to Congress to get approval before deploying uniformed military to the polls, cuts off funding for the military or federal law enforcement to seize ballots or voting machines and, thirdly, protects members of the military from “illegal orders” to do so, Slotkin said.
“We’re here doing this as swing states because we think the most important thing we need to do as senators is protect our polls, protect our democracy in this election year,” Slotkin said at a news conference at the Capitol.
Her co-sponsors on the bill are “purple” state senators, including Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Raphael Warnock of Georgia.
Slotkin pointed to remarks by President Donald Trump, who in the last six months has claimed over 100 times that the 2020 elections were rigged, mused to a journalist that he wished he had sent the military to collect ballots in 2020, and regretted that he didn’t sign a draft executive order in 2020 sending the National Guard to seize ballots and voting machines.
“I, personally, have asked five different cabinet officials whether they would rule this out, whether it was OK to deploy the uniformed military or federal law enforcement to our polls, from Secretary Hegseth to Secretary Mullin,” Slotkin said. “None of them would unilaterally rule it out.”
Pro-Rogers group goes on air
A group called the Great Lakes Conservative Fund has launched a $1 million, comic-book-themed ad campaign in support of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers of White Lake Township.
“Mike Rogers is a military veteran and Michigan auto-factory worker,” said Andy Surabian, president of the fund. “He understands what Michigan families are dealing with after decades of Democrats gutting manufacturing jobs and killing the economy with their left-wing policy agenda.”
Tlaib bill seeks ICE detainee locator
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, last week dropped legislation that would require the Department of Homeland Security to maintain an accurate online detainee locator system for those individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection.
The bill directs the creation of a system that shows “timely” information on arrests, detention locations, and transfers that are not available in the current ICE locator system, which is often not up to date.
Tlaib noted that lawyers and families are often unable to find their clients in the system, leaving them unclear if the individual is even still in the country.
“ICE and CBP are abducting our neighbors in the middle of the night, locking them in cages, and concealing their location from their families and legal counsel,” Tlaib said in a statement.
“We must equip our communities with every tool we can to help free our immigrant neighbors from this cruel and immoral system of detention.”
A summary of the bill said it also creates compliance mechanisms and penalties for non-compliant facilities and contractors, and requires ICE and CBP to inform family members and legal counsel when a detained individual is transferred for urgent medical care.
Tweet of the Week
The Insider report’s “Tweet of the Week,” recognizing a social media post that was worthy of attention or, possibly from the previous week goes to Republican political consultant John Yob.
Yob dove into the debate over polling done by Mitchell Research on Thursday, calling for widespread retractions by the media.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
gschwab@detroitnews.com
mburke@detroitnews.com
Michigan QB Bryce Underwood talks about his goals for Year 2
Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood speaks about his goals heading into Year 2 on June 20, 2026.
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.”
While Underwood’s offseason has been focused on improvement, it hasn’t been without headlines. Recently, former NFL All-Pro safety Eric Weddle made waves when he said he didn’t think Underwood “could throw or play quarterback” and told people to “mark [his] words” that one of U-M’s backups may see the field “early.”
Underwood didn’t want to put any stock into the comments, but instead looked forward to the season opener.
“I mean, Game 1 is September 5,” he said. “I’ll let that speak. … I’m not putting no energy toward one person.”
For the most part, Underwood seemed to be a bit more intentional with his remarks than this time a year ago. Prior to playing in college, he talked about winning national championships, a Heisman Trophy and while walking around Cedar Point amusement park said “I can run all of Ohio” in a now-viral video.
This time he said a realistic expectation for this season as a team is”winning,” and his individual goals are “whatever my team needs to win.” After the response, he was asked if he needed to tone down his rhetoric.
“I mean, no matter what, I stand by what I said then,” he said. “It’s over now, time to move forward with that.”
As a household name in the state for a handful of years, the still-18-year-old knows he has room to grow. He says this year is about working “smarter” and raved about the new staff.
He says he thinks the transition has been “for the better” and added he feels like the team is “more prepared” while also adding the team is player-led and “player-driven”. It’s a big year for the Wolverines, who will always be a national brand but want to get back to the top of the national landscape.
It’s also a big year for Underwood, who wants the same for himself.
“I want to prove to myself that I am what I think,” he said. “I feel like I’m the best player to ever come out of Michigan … because I worked for it.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
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