The Michigan Wolverines apparently had their eyes on quarterbacks in the transfer portal this offseason despite having five-star signal-caller Bryce Underwood under contract. Underwood had some growing pains in his freshman season, competing 60.3% of his passes for 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The six-foot-four, 228-pound athlete from Detroit, Michigan, rushed for 392 yards and six touchdowns on 88 carries.
New Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham seems to have wanted some competition at quarterback this year. During an appearance on the "Brandon Walker College Football Show" on Friday, Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker said he was receiving interest from Oregon, LSU, Texas Tech and Michigan in the transfer portal this offseason. More news: Kirk Herbstreit Calls Out Notre Dame for ‘Embarrassing’ Schedule More news: Three Teams That Can Win the Big 12 “I didn’t talk to a whole bunch of schools in the portal,” Mestemaker said.
And really, the schools that were interested were like Oregon. "Michigan was in our radar. Kind of those three, I guess--maybe (Texas) Tech a little bit.
I mean, at the end of the day, I kind of chose my decision pretty quickly, honestly." At the time Mestemaker was making his decision, Dante Moore had not made his decision to return to Oregon. LSU and Texas Tech were looking for quarterbacks. Mestemaker led the NCAA in passing yards with North Texas last season with 4,379 yards.
He threw for 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He added another five scores on the ground. Mestemaker chose to transfer to Oklahoma State to follow head coach Eric Morris.
Had Mestemaker transferred to Michigan, he would have likely been the starter for the Wolverines this season. Like what happened with Dylan Raiola at Oregon when Moore decided to return, Underwood could have sat behind Mestemaker for a year to learn the position before getting another opportunity to play in 2027. Instead, Underwood will need to show improvement in Year 2 under a new coaching staff.
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