Michigan's Bryce Underwood shuts down wildest social media rumors with truth
Rival fans will say just about anything they want about Michigan football and just hope that it's true.
Back in April, in the week leading up to the annual spring game, a still from a Bussin' with the Boys video showed freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood in an unflattering wide angle. Suddenly, college football social media was abuzz, mostly with Ohio State and Michigan State fans proclaiming that the first-year player and former No. 1 recruit in the country had fallen victim to the freshman 15.
However, even though that narrative quietly persists, Underwood put that rumor to rest the moment that he stepped out onto the field.
Thus, he told The Wolverine at the annual Champions Circle golf outing that that was the most egregious rumor started about him on social media.
"(That) I'm fat," Underwood said. "I just got off of social media, you feel me? That's kind of low key -- I was just sitting there confused because it gets to a point. It's cool though."
One thing is true, however: Underwood has gained 15 pounds, according to him earlier this month. However, unlike the rival narratives, it isn't fat that he gained now that the 6-foot-4 quarterback is 230 pounds.
The college football world will be properly set right on August 30 when the Wolverines host New Mexico for the 2025 season opener.
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New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
Why Lions OC John Morton spent his summer in the lab: Training camp news and notes
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Lions' preseason debut is fast approaching, with just one more practice until Thursday's Hall of Fame Game against the Los Angeles Chargers. It feels like the Lions have been ready for a few days now. But the extra help doesn't hurt. Here's what we saw on Day 7 of Lions training camp. Advertisement Lions offensive coordinator John Morton delayed his vacation this year. No beaches, no trips to Cancun. He instead used his time to do what most offensive coordinators would rather be doing: locking themselves away and grinding tape. It's what you'll come to learn about Morton. 'I was in Denver with him,' wide receiver Tim Patrick said of Morton. 'One thing you're gonna get out of Johnny Mo is he's going to be the hardest worker in the building. He's going to sleep here some nights.' 'He is a hard-working guy,' said Jon Gruden, in attendance for Lions practice to watch Morton and his other mentees on staff in action. 'For all the Detroit fans, what you don't see is the work ethic that you're getting. This guy is nuts. People thought I was nuts. This guy is freaking nuts, man. He loves it, he's a creative guy, he's a great competitor, and I can't wait to see the Lions open up the season.' That's a common answer when you ask about Morton. He's viewed as a tireless worker with an eye for detail. When he was a senior offensive assistant in 2022, he helped install some of the passing concepts and route combos the Lions still use to this day. If coach Dan Campbell needed a situational play call back then — red zone, third-down, etc. — he'd often turn to Morton for one. The more stories you hear like this, the more the hiring makes sense. He helped build this thing. Now he has the chance to put his stamp on things. 'I just love the whole aspect of just sitting in my laboratory by myself and trying to dissect the defense,' Morton said. 'I think that's fun.' The Lions might have another mad scientist on their hands. Morton discussed a few plans for the offense this season and the reasons behind them. Here are a few: • Morton on the downfield passing game: 'I'm isolating guys. I want to give them the chance, so I'm taking more shots. … I'm all about that because we have the guys that can do it. So, if you got them, utilize them.' Advertisement • On running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery being on the field at the same time 'We can throw it, we can run it, we can do whatever we want. I'm all about making the defense uneasy, and then maybe I might get an automatic defensive front coverage or a blitz, or something like that. I'm always looking to put our best players on the field at all times.' • On trick plays: 'Well, we'll see. I'm going to do what Dan — whatever he wants. But we're going to have everything. …Whatever was working, we're going to continue to do that.' If you just watched the first few days of Lions camp, you might be inclined to give the starting center nod to Tate Ratledge. The Lions were frontloading him early, intentionally giving him everything he could handle. It was hard to get a feel for exactly where he was, though, without the benefit of pads. The Lions have been in full pads for three practices now, and if those practices are an indication of where they're learning, the job might be Graham Glasgow's to lose. 'I do like where we're at right now,' Morton said of the center battle. 'I think Ratledge has done a good job. I mean, we had him at center first, and now we moved him to guard. Glasgow is at the center now, I think that's more natural for him. Because that center and quarterback (relationship), that needs to be right. The quarterback has got to feel right right there. I do like the way it's going right now. It's still early, the more we do it, the better we're going to get.' None of that should come as a surprise, but it is noteworthy coming from the coordinator himself, on the heels of a trend we've seen in practice. Glasgow is much healthier now than he was when he last saw him in January, playing through a few injuries with the Lions already down Kevin Zeitler in the Commanders game. Glasgow tends to downplay his injuries, but it's hard to judge him from that performance with the added context. That alone should help him in 2025. But a move inside could be what's best for both Glasgow and the team. Advertisement Glasgow, not Ratledge, has handled center responsibilities each of the last three practices. They've all been full-padded practices. Morton said center comes naturally for Glasgow, which makes sense because he has meaningful center experience. Ratledge doesn't. What Ratledge has going for him is athleticism. If the Lions want something closer to what they had in Ragnow at center athletically, it would be Ratledge. You could put him there and deal with the growing pains that might come from his inexperience. But the biggest revelation might've come from Glasgow himself, speaking with a handful of local reporters off to the side after practice. 'I do like playing center,' Glasgow said. 'Center's fun. I like the mental load that comes with it. I think it's a challenge, but that's something that I'm pretty good at, so I like to do it. If it came to me having to play center and make the calls or me be a guard and think about the calls anyway — just to make sure the calls are right — I'd probably rather just play center.' There's a common misconception about Glasgow. He's been vocal about the challenges of moving from center to guard midseason, which he's had to do on occasion because of injury. He's also talked about his preference for playing right guard over left. That wouldn't be the case in 2025. He likes the idea of being the full-time center. And if the Lions are going to ask him to help their young guards anyway, why not do it at center? So, to recap: Morton thinks center is more natural for Glasgow than it is for Ratledge. Ratledge has never played the position in a college or NFL game and would be learning on the fly. Glasgow likes playing center and thinks it would be easier than helping Ratledge identify defensive threats as a guard. And the Lions have had Glasgow exclusively at center in each of their padded practices. Still early, but it's starting to feel like this one is winding down. The Lions ran two two-minute drills near the end of practice — one between the starters and another among the reserves. The situation for the starters: a little over a minute left, two timeouts, scoreless game with the first half drawing to a close. Quarterback Jared Goff overthrew Gibbs on a wheel route and receiver Jameson Williams down the right sideline on various deep shots. 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I think the Lions will carry three QBs into the season. • Lions safety Kerby Joseph and nickel Amik Robertson did not practice Monday. Robertson told me he's 'all good' walking off the field in street clothes. Joseph, wearing a compression sleeve on his left leg, declined to comment. We'll hear from Campbell on Tuesday. • Safety Ian Kennelly and running back Sione Vaki returned to practice. Vaki was limited. • Montgomery made quick work of linebacker Jack Campbell in the open-field tackling drill. Didn't break a sweat. Campbell has improved quite a bit in many areas of his game, but his open-field tackling still needs work. These pairings are by design. • Linebacker Alex Anzalone was back with the first-team defense after being limited to walk-throughs and position drills Saturday. • Tight end Sam LaPorta easily handled Branch on back-to-back reps in the tackling drill Monday — first on a spin move, then a stiff arm. That is, uh, no small feat. Branch is usually driving someone into the dirt on this drill. LaPorta also scored on consecutive plays in the red zone period. He's quietly been one of the best players in camp. • I had Branch with three separate wins in the WR-DBs drills against Kalif Raymond, Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Advertisement • Arnold locked up Patrick on a one-on-one fade route in the end zone during the WR-DB drills. He continues to impress. Patrick acknowledged he didn't have a great day of practice. • TeSlaa made a nice diving catch in the end zone over cornerback Tyson Russell. • Reader has been one of the more impressive players in training camp. This is his first full offseason with the team, and he's been highly, highly impressive. • Defensive back Erick Hallett has been one of the first DBs off the bench to fill in with the first-team defense. I'm keeping an eye on him. • There were three bad exchanges between Allen and center Kingsley Eguakun. Hard to tell who was at fault in real time, but Eguakun has a chance to be the third center this year. • Linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo, returning from knee injuries, got some work in off to the side. Wingo told me he's working his way back and the team is being cautious with him. He feels good.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Ranking Texas Longhorns schedule from toughest to easiest opponents
Road tests at Ohio State, Florida and Georgia, combined with tons of rivalry matchups sets up for a really tough 2025 slate for the Texas Longhorns The Texas schedule (along with the rest of the SEC) has been a massive topic of conversation as of late. Texas was introduced to the SEC with one of the easier slates in the conference in 2024. In 2025, a couple of those matchups get tougher, going away from Austin and you add in the reigning National Champions. Let's take a second to rank the games from toughest to easiest to give an idea of what the Longhorns face this Fall: 1. At Georgia - November 15th This is the toughest game on the schedule. Georgia and Texas have been dubbed the next huge SEC rivalry, with the battles on the recruiting trail and Sanford Stadium will be rocking. Sark and Texas will be circling this one and Kirby and the Dawgs will be right there with them. Gunner Stockton taking over does create some questions around Georgia but that defense will be one of the best in the country. As a cherry on top, following this are back-to-back rivalry games against Arkansas and Texas A&M. 2. At Florida - October 4th Putting Florida above Ohio State might be a surprise for some, but there are three massive reasons for having the Gators here. 1. The Swamp will be the toughest road atmosphere these players have ever played in. 2. A week later Texas heads to Dallas to take on Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry 3. DJ Lagway will(likely) be playing in this game, unlike last year. Getting a bye before this one is huge, but it's the tonesetter for the SEC slate. If Texas is not ready to go walking into the Swamp, the Gators can get a massive upset, much like LSU or Ole Miss last year. 3. At Ohio State - August 30th The Longhorns play the reigning national champion for the second year in a row. They head up to Columbus in just over a month to get the Buckeyes for the second time in the last two games for Texas, but it's a totally different Buckeye squad. Julian Sayin(likely) will be the starter at QB, brand new RB duo and TONS of changes on defense. Ohio State is currently favored by just under a FG in this one, and if Texas misses the mark in this one, the margin for error drops significantly for a 3rd-straight CFP berth. 4. Texas A&M - November 28th Texas A&M comes to Austin this time around for the Lone Star Showdown. Marcel Reed heads into his first full year as the starter, Le'Veon Moss returns as a top RB in the country and transfer WR pieces, Mario Craver and KC Concepcion should upgrade the Aggies offense. On defense, Taurean York and Scooby Williams are back as the anchor of that defense, Will Lee is one of the best returning CBs in the SEC and Mike Elko with another year to set in his defensive identity. If Texas wants to make it three in a row vs. the Aggies, they have to be at the top of their game on a short week. 5. Oklahoma(Dallas) - October 11th Oklahoma is one of the biggest unknowns in college football this year. Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer come over from Washington State trying to revive the Oklahoma offense from the Lincoln Riley era. The defense, although losing Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman, will be an improved unit, particularly up front. Oklahoma will be coming off a game against Kent State, with a bye before that. This sets up for a possible huge, possibly undefeated matchup in Dallas. 6. Arkansas - November 22nd Arkansas is a game that Steve Sarkisian will never take lightly again after what happened in 2021. The Horns were able to get the win in Fayetteville last year, but Taylen Green and the Razorbacks came into Austin with a chip on their shoulder. The other part of this is the placement of the game. It is placed in between Georgia and Texas A&M, setting up for a classic 'trap game' for the Horns. 7. Vanderbilt - November 1st Diego Pavia has already talked about this being one of the biggest games for the Commodores this year. Texas escaped Nashville with a win last year by three points, and many key players are returning for Vanderbilt, including one of the top TEs in the country Eli Stowers. This one comes right before a bye, but Texas needs a win heading into that final three game slate. 8. At Mississippi State - October 25th Texas will have to battle the Bulldogs and the cowbells in Starkville this year. Mississippi State was picked to finish last in the SEC in the media poll. That being said, Mississippi State has an experienced QB in Blake Shapen leading the way. They also brought in two explosive transfer receivers in Anthony Evans and former Longhorn and Sooner, Brennen Thompson to that offense. Jeff Lebby's offense has given Texas problems in the past and is still looking for his signature win in Starkville. 9. At Kentucky - October 18th Kentucky was not too much ahead of Mississippi State in the SEC media poll and brought in former Aggie QB Zach Calzada to lead the offense. Kentucky lost some huge weapons this offseason, but the additions of Kendrick Law and Dante Dowdell help soften the wound. This is game Texas should be able to get a comfortable win, but as Georgia has seen, going into Lexington and getting a win is not a layup by any means. 10. San Jose State - September 6th San Jose State is coming off a 7-6 overall season, but came up a game short of a MWC title berth. Walker Eget is back as the starting QB for the Spartans(2,500 passing yards, 13 TDs in 2024) and Floyd Chalk IV is leading the way in the backfield, but the loss of Nick Nash looms large. San Jose State will be a factor in the MWC race again, but shouldn't be an issue for the Horns in Week 2. 11. Sam Houston - September 20th Phil Longo takes over the Bearcats in 2025 and as you can imagine, there is a lot of new. Hunter Watson does return after being one of the most productive QBs in the Group of 5 last year, but they are introducing 8 new transfer starters on defense. Hunter Watson will present some interesting problems, but this needs to be a comfortable win heading into the bye before SEC play. 12. UTEP - September 13th The Miners are coming off a 3-9 season in 2024, but return a ton of production, particularly on offense. Skyler Locklear returns at QB, going into his sophomore year after an up and down freshman campaign. The Miners return their top 4 pass catchers and a 700+ yard rusher in Jevon Jackson. Texas should not have much of an issue with this one, especially with UTEP returning less than half their production on defense. This is a manageable schedule for Texas, largely because of the placement of the byes. Getting them before the start of SEC play in Gainesville and before a trip to Athens is going to be very helpful for the Horns. That being said, this is one of the toughest schedules in the country, and those three road trips are going to be hard to sweep.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Jameson Williams' asking price in Lions extension potentially revealed
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is eligible for a contract extension, and his asking price for a new deal may have just been revealed. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and The Insiders, the Denver Broncos are signing Pro Bowl wide receiver Courtland Sutton to a four-year extension worth $92 million. "The Broncos have agreed to terms on a new contract extension for WR Courtland Sutton, sources tell The Insiders. It's a 4-year, $92M deal," Rapoport wrote on X. "The deal done by Milk & Honey Sports locks Sutton in and properly compensates him at last." Sutton is set to make $23 million annually in his extension with Denver, which also seems like a fair value for Williams' next contract with the Lions. With Williams still under contract until 2027 due to the fifth-year option, Detroit will likely wait until next offseason to extend him. The 24-year-old posted his first 1,000-yard campaign in 2024 and established himself as an explosive deep threat in the Lions' offense. Heading into 2025, Williams is expected to take another step forward and post a productive season. If he can build off a promising 2024 campaign, the Alabama product should be in line for a lucrative extension next offseason worth similarly or even more than what Sutton just got from the Broncos. Williams is also much younger than Sutton, which should increase the value of his deal. MORE DETROIT LIONS NEWS Super Bowl-winning head coach heaps praise on Lions offensive coordinator John Morton Will Lions put Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery on the field together? Here's what John Morton said Lions' center competition gets troubling update after first week of training camp Penei Sewell's $112 million contract starting to look like a bargain for Lions
