Why Michigan’s quarterback competition between Bryce Underwood and Mikey Keene is legitimate

Michigan’s quarterback situation in 2024 was abysmal at best, ranking No. 129 in passing offense. However, better days are ahead at QB for Michigan. The Wolverines added 2025 No. 1 overall prospect and No. 1 quarterback Bryce Underwood to the equation as well as Fresno State transfer quarterback Mikey Keene.

Underwood’s an early enrollee and practiced with the Michigan team during their ReliaQuest Bowl prep against Alabama, and both he and Keene will be with the team for offseason conditioning and spring practices. While many assume that Underwood will be the starter in 2025 due to being the cream of the crop in his recruiting class, that is far from being decided — a legitimate competition between him and Keene will unfold.

“It’s open competition,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said this week. “Nobody is promised a certain spot. Everybody has got to earn it, and he really understands that, even with the guys we’ve brought in. So he’s really excited to push the whole room.”

Keene has plenty of experience, and will be entering his fifth collegiate season after stops at Central Florida and Fresno State. Keene had a 70.5 completion percentage in 2024 at Fresno State with 2,892 yards with 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Keene has passed 8,245 passing yards in his career with 65 touchdowns and 28 interceptions with a 67.8 completion percentage.

Moore noted that Keene’s familiarity with new Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey’s scheme was “huge.” Lindsey was Central Florida’s offensive coordinator in 2022 while Keene was at UCF — Keene threw for 647 yards, six touchdowns and one interception with a 72.3 completion rate that season.

“Heard great things and tactical things about him as a leader,” Moore said. “Really excited for him to push that room and give us an experienced guy that we feel that he can win us games, and that was the most important piece of it.”

Bringing Keene into Michigan is the type of addition that Michigan needed and Underwood wanted. Underwood realizes that the only way he’s going to get better is by having good competition day in and day out in Ann Arbor.

“You just want to make sure you have enough guys in the room who can push each other,” Moore said. “A big thing when we recruited Bryce was ‘who’s going to push me, who’s going to make me better?’ All his life he’s been pushed to be made better, he doesn’t want to be given anything.”

Underwood has the highest of ceilings, and Keene has tons of experience and familiarity in Michigan’s new offensive scheme — who winds up starting is currently anyone’s guess. The fact we don’t know should serve both Underwood and Keene well in the months to come.