Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham named true freshman Tommy Carr his starting quarterback for the “foreseeable future” during his weekly news conference Monday, confirming Carr will stay under center when the Wolverines host Michigan State. The move cements a change Whittingham began making in late October, when he benched five-star recruit Bryce Underwood at halftime of a game against Penn State.
Carr, the grandson of College Football Hall of Famers Lloyd Carr and Tom Curtis and the younger brother of Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, has started two games for Michigan. He led the Wolverines to a win after replacing Underwood against Penn State, then made his first career start in a 13-6 overtime loss to then-No. 6 Indiana, a game in which he threw an interception and lost a fumble.
Whittingham’s Rationale For The Switch
Whittingham pointed to Carr’s performance in Michigan’s 28-21 win over Rutgers as the clearest evidence he deserved the job long term. Carr completed 22 of 27 passes, good for 81%, for 266 yards and a touchdown, and added 54 rushing yards and two scores on the ground, including the game-winning nine-yard touchdown run with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter.
“Over a full season, would have him as one of the top QBs in the country,” Whittingham said of that kind of production from Carr.
The coach also defended Carr after the rough outing against Indiana, declining to pin the loss on his freshman quarterback. “He’s not the one to shoulder the blame in this,” Whittingham said. “We’ve got plenty of issues to go around, and again, it all starts with coaching.”
What It Means For The Quarterback Depth Chart
The decision ends, at least for now, Underwood’s hold on the starting job he took over as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class after flipping his commitment from LSU. Underwood signed a four-year, $12 million deal with Michigan that includes an annual termination option, a package that had been reported elsewhere at $12.5 million.
Underwood struggled through Michigan’s 4-2 start before his benching, completing 58.1% of his passes for 924 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions on the season. He had yet to throw for 300 yards or more than two touchdowns in a game, and in his final two appearances against Penn State and Minnesota he managed just 144 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Against Penn State alone, he threw two interceptions on just 11 attempts before Whittingham pulled him.
Carr’s season numbers tell a different story. Across four games, he has completed 72.1% of his passes for 503 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, while adding 114 rushing yards on 33 carries and three rushing touchdowns.
Context: Michigan’s Offensive Struggles
The quarterback change comes as Michigan has posted some of the worst offensive numbers in the Big Ten under first-year offensive coordinator Jason Beck. The Wolverines rank second to last in the conference in both yards per game at 300.6 and points per game at 20.3.
Michigan sits at 5-3 on the season, with losses to Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana. The program has internal links to other coaches facing pressure to turn around struggling units elsewhere in football, though Whittingham’s public backing of Carr suggests Michigan views the freshman as part of the solution rather than the problem.
What’s Next
Michigan hosts rival Michigan State on Saturday, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. Carr will make his third career start in that game as Whittingham looks for his offense to find more consistency following the switch at quarterback.
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