Michigan spring game gave fans a harsh dose of Bryce Underwood reality

The future is bright for the Michigan Wolverines under center, but we cannot take the cake that is being baked out of the oven too soon. For as much promise as Bryce Underwood offers coming in as a five-star freshman, he most certainly looked like a freshman in Michigan's Maize vs. Blue Spring Game. He completed less than half of his passes for 186 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

What should be noted is the bulk of his production came by way of a 90-yard trick play at the very end of his Michigan debut. While completed only 44.4 percent of his passes (12-27) is not a good look, it was not like Jadyn Davis looked all that much better competing opposite of him. He completed just 6-of-16 passes for 74 yards and two interceptions. Sherrone Moore cannot be happy.

What I am getting at is Michigan has plenty of room to grow this season offensively, but they need to take advantage of the runway at hand. More in-game reps should do this offense a world of good. Unfortunately, the Wolverines may not have the juice I thought they did on that side of the ball to compete with Indiana, Illinois and others for the fourth Big Ten team to make the playoff this season.

Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State are essentially College Football Playoff locks at this point in time.

Again, I am bullish on the upside of Underwood as a starter, but we have to give him time to thrive.

Bryce Underwood's Michigan spring game leaves a lot to be desired

For various reasons, Michigan was always going to be a high variance team in the Big Ten this season. Their ceiling is to get in as one of four Big Ten teams into playoff. They might be able to win a game if they get the right first-round matchup, but anything above a top-eight finish is a bit too farfetched for me to get behind. As for the floor, they could be looking for a new head coach after only two seasons.

This is the year where Moore needs to prove to us once and for all that this is his team and not Jim Harbaugh's. There are certain leadership qualities that I really like about Moore. I also know that his team is proficient at running the ball. My concern is the vertical passing game. Underwood is the great unknown heading into this season. If he does hit, the Michigan could win double-digit games.

The thing that I keep going back to is spring games should be times where questions are answered and the overall vibes of a program are positive. That is not to say the vibes in Ann Arbor are awful, but you would have that one of your quarterbacks of note could complete above 50 percent of his passes. Running the football is Michigan's bread and butter offensively, but can it be multi-faceted?

The only thing that matters is for Davis and Underwood to grow from spring practice into fall camp.