Michigan
Michigan football camp will bring true QB competition: ‘It’s a real battle’
Michigan football QB Bryce Underwood works out at a private throwing session
Michigan football QB Bryce Underwood works out at a private throwing session in Detroit
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.
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.
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.
ROTHBURY, Mich. — Michigan State Police (MSP) detectives shared some more information Friday about their investigation of the infant death at this year’s Electric Forest music festival in Rothbury.
Troopers recently received a tip about a Muskegon woman who was said to have information about the incident, but after interviewing her and completing other necessary investigative steps, MSP said they ruled her out as a suspect.
A restroom vending company employee at the festival found the body of a neonate, a newborn infant who is four weeks old or younger, in a portable restroom in the festival camping area on June 28, according to troopers.
The festival is hosted at the Double JJ Resort, which was locked down to anyone entering the following day as police surrounded the scene.
Troopers are asking for tips from the public at michigan.gov/michtip.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Harmful algal blooms have been reported on two notable lakes in West Michigan: Gun Lake and Muskegon Lake.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy says cyanobacteria was reported on Muskegon Lake July 3, but no tests have confirmed it.
The Barry-Eaton District Health Department says a harmful algal bloom was confirmed Thursday on Gun Lake. The lake remains open, but the BEDHD is encouraging visitors to use caution and avoid water that has “visible algae.”
Visitors are encouraged to avoid any contact with water that appears bright green, blue-green, brown or red or has “floating mats of scum.”
Pets should also avoid the water. If they come into contact with the algae, pets should be rinsed off as soon as possible with clean, fresh water.
Exposure to algae can cause a rash or irritation to the skin, eyes, nose and throat. It can also cause stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever and trouble breathing.
“If you become sick, contact your healthcare provider. Seek medical care right away if you have trouble breathing, severe vomiting, or other serious symptoms,” the BEDHD said in a statement. “If your pet was exposed, rinse them well with clean water and do not let them lick their fur until they have been washed. Contact your veterinarian right away if your pet has vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, trouble walking, excessive drooling, shaking, or seizures.”
Harmful algal blooms are powered by the sudden growth of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria occur naturally in lakes, rivers and ponds but is often boosted by a sudden excess of nutrients, often caused by fertilizer runoff from farms or failed septic systems.
They can last for several days and sometimes even months. The water will look “scummy” or like “spilled paint or pea soup.” They are typically found in the summer and fall — usually peaking in August or September and dying off by the end of October.
You can report a suspected harmful algal bloom to EGLE at AlgaeBloom@Michigan.gov or 1.800.662.9278.
Sterling Stamping Plant is the largest in the world
Ed Daniels, vice president of North America injection and stamping operations, discusses the process of producing metal parts for Stellantis models.
Warren — Hulking metal presses line one wall of Stellantis NV’s cavernous stamping plant here, punching out the raw shapes of Jeep doors, Dodge hoods and Ram tailgates in rapid succession.
Nearby, swinging yellow robots continue the tightly choreographed work, gluing and pressing and welding smaller components to the sheet metal that eventually will start to resemble the shape of a truck or SUV.
Seven miles north, in Sterling Heights, Stellantis operates an even larger stamping plant — the biggest in the world, at 2.7 million square feet — that does much of the same work, churning out various shapes of steel and aluminum 24 hours a day.
Together, these lesser-known links in the manufacturing supply chain support all of Stellantis’ big North American assembly plants — from next-door Warren Truck Assembly Plant, where the Jeep Grand Wagoneer SUV is built, to facilities in Windsor and Mexico that make minivans and pickups.
Inside Stellantis’ Huge Detroit Stamping Plants
The Detroit News recently got a rare look inside the automaker’s Sterling and Warren stamping plants, which are key to the company’s turnaround plan.
The Metro Detroit stamping plants, the automaker’s only two such facilities in the United States, have at times struggled in recent years, facing major job cuts and worker morale issues amid slowing sales and shifting production plans. But under Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, the facilities are expected to cram in more workload — and add staff — as Stellantis begins a new five-year strategic turnaround plan, which includes a heavy focus on its most profitable North American market.
The carmaker’s goal: grow sales by more than a third to 1.9 million annually by 2030 as it launches 23 vehicles, including 11 all-new models. The company also is directing billions of dollars of investment into its U.S. manufacturing footprint due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“Stamping has never really been viewed as the sexy side of automotive manufacturing, we’re relatively invisible,” said Ed Daniels Jr., vice president of North America injection and stamping operations. “Because when you look at the commercials and advertisements, it’s always a beautiful Ram rolling off the assembly line or climbing the side of a mountain.
“But we’re the inception of that vehicle,” he said. “This is where raw materials are turned into commodities and parts.”
The Detroit News recently got a rare look inside the two plants that combined employ about 3,000 people. The automaker wanted to show off a newly-installed blanking press at Warren Stamping and other machinery like a high-speed transfer press and a robot that spots flaws in the metal.
Hiring expected
The blanking press unspools long coils of metal and chops them up into pieces that can then be shaped into roofs, fenders and floor pans. Stellantis shipped the massive machine to Warren from its idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois last year.
After upgrades to the machine, executives said it’s able to produce as many as 120,000 metal blanks per week. It will save Stellantis money since the plant will no longer need to pay a supplier to break down the coils before the metal arrives there.
The blanker addition is a big deal for the plant and signals that the company wants to bring more work in-house and invest in the facility over the coming years, said Romaine McKinney III, president of United Auto Workers Local 869, which represents workers at the factory.
The plant has already brought back all of its laid-off UAW workers, and McKinney said he anticipates more hiring to get underway if sales grow and new Stellantis vehicles come to market.
In another corner of the Warren facility, one of the fastest press lines in the world — known internally as the Hellcat — pushes as many as 15 pieces of metal through per minute. Dies that weigh up to 50 tons apiece squish the material into the shapes of doors and hoods before robotic arms snatch them out and place them on conveyor belts. Midway through a shift, workers can reconfigure the machine to make a different component, a process that takes just five minutes.
Robots check for quality
Curtis Booth, who manages Warren Stamping, said manual processes inside the plant have become increasingly automated, and safer, over the last couple decades, even as the automaker’s two stamping factories still utilize some presses that were installed in the 1960s.
The latest high-tech addition is the Automated Body Inspection System, or ABIS. It’s a camera system mounted on a robot that automatically checks the quality of components and flags anything in need of repair.
Auto plants of all kinds are increasingly turning to these types of camera systems, infused with artificial intelligence, to catch flaws in sheet metal and other components before they are shipped. Booth said worker visual inspections are still used. But in some cases the human eye has too much subjectivity, and the ABIS removes the guesswork.
Greg Bauer, who manages Sterling Stamping, said his plant has added staff over the past year, and expects to continue hiring as more work is assigned to the facility. There is no space at the plant to add more presses, but officials have figured out how to increase efficiency — quickly toggling back and forth between making doors for a Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Charger on on a single machine, for example.
“We want to bring high-volume parts into the plant, and we want to maximize the capacity of the equipment,” Daniels said.
lramseth@detroitnews.com
-
Kentucky8 seconds ago
Trooper still recovering 1 year after fatal Lexington shooting spree
-
Louisiana7 minutes ago6 Best Out-of-State 529 Plans for Louisiana Residents (Beyond START Saving) – Big Easy
-
Maine14 minutes agoMaine Resiliency Center launches survey to gauge Lewiston shooting’s impact
-
Maryland17 minutes agoMaryland crab prices climb as catches fall
-
Michigan22 minutes agoMichigan State Police rule out suspect in Electric Forest baby death investigation
-
Massachusetts29 minutes agoMassachusetts man charged in N.H. and N.J. bank robberies caught in Capital Region
-
Minnesota31 minutes agoHow to prepare for extreme heat in Minnesota
-
Mississippi37 minutes agoMississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for July 10, 2026
