LAS VEGAS — Leave it to the former signal-caller to keep a close eye on the quarterback competition.

Max Bredeson – who Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore called the “heartbeat” of the team at his podium availability at Big Ten football media days at Mandalay Bay Convention Center on Thursday, July 24 − certainly didn’t trash-talk the Wolverines’ 2024 QBs, but there was an underlying tone of optimism from the tight end and fullback, looking forward to the 2025 group.

The Wolverines feature six quarterbacks overall, with a starter yet to be named; the competition is expected to come down to three: true freshman Bryce Underwood, grad transfer Mikey Keene (Fresno State) and fifth-year Jake Garcia (East Carolina), a late summer addition. The others: Davis Warren, last year’s main starter, who’s coming off a torn ACL and likely won’t be ready for the start of the year; sophomore Jadyn Davis, who underwhelmed in the spring game; and true freshman Chase Herbstreit.

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Bredeson, who was the offense’s lone representative in Vegas, already has some thoughts on the unit’s bond.

“Extremely comfortable with how everyone’s been preparing,” he said. “That battle, it’s a real battle. And it’s a very close-knit room which is always important − our best rooms have been very close no matter who’s playing.

“So, excited to watch them compete this camp and we’ll see who comes out on top.”

The competition will officially begin on Wednesday, July 30 – the Wolverines’ first day of fall camp.

As far as Underwood, there’s little that’s left to cover: Coaches, teammates and seemingly everyone within the program have been effusive with their praise of the true freshman, a five-star recruit from Belleville, since Day 1. At his podium session, Bredeson detailed the process the 17-year-old has gone through to earn the trust of the team.

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There’s no moment Bredeson can put a finger on, he said. It’s not about saying the right things one time, or doing the right things another. It’s simply the daily action of work − the process Underwood detailed to the Free Press earlier this summer that now has him with an 11 p.m. curfew at U-M’s practice facility because he had a tendency to work out too late.

Bredeson called them “real habits,” later adding that Underwood is “wise beyond his years” in how he practices.

While some of have questioned whether a teenager can truly lead the Wolverines, Bredeson pointed back to the quarterback he came to Ann Arbor with in 2021 and how he made big plays soon after getting the starting job.

“Whoever’s taking the snap, I’m happy with,” he said. “Couldn’t care about age. I mean, same thing with J.J. (McCarthy) – as a freshman, he took real snaps in real big games. It’s a different dynamic with who’s in the room.

“But I would have no fear with a freshman taking it, or a seventh-year taking it.”

Keene isn’t a seventh-year, but he is entering his fifth season of college football – the most experience of anybody among U-M QBs, with 2,029 snaps (according to Moore).

Keene also has experience with new Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, starting in the 2022 season at UCF under him. That bond, and the know-how to operate Lindsey’s system, could give him a headstart for U-M’s starting nod.

Still, Keane missed all of spring with an injury, which seemingly left U-M without a proven QB. Enter Garcia, who’s been in college since 2021; that included the 2023 season at Missouri and 2021-22 with Miami (Florida) before last year’s stint at ECU.

Now, on his fourth program in five years, he’s out to prove why he was a top-50 recruit in 2021 and the No. 8 quarterback in the nation per 247 Sports’ composite rankings.

“Seems like every quarterback we bring in has played a lot of football,” Bredeson said jokingly. “Been around a lot of football, seen different games − it’s never a bad thing to have more experience in a room.”

But perhaps the most poignant point came from Derrick Moore. The senior edge has learned to read quarterbacks’ demeanor and watch their interactions with one another.

This year’s QB competition looks like one that can bring the best out of everybody, Moore suggested.

“Just like, competitiveness,” Moore said. “You don’t see anybody down talking anybody or anything − you almost wouldn’t even think there’s a quarterback battle going on with how close them guys are, but they all stick together.

“They compete, give each other advice and work hard.”

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.