Bryce Underwood is under fire, but OU football offers 'tremendous respect' for Michigan QB
· Yahoo Sports
NORMAN — Despite all of the opinions surrounding Michigan's Week 1 performance, OU football coach Brent Venables thinks very highly of starting quarterback Bryce Underwood.
Underwood completed 12 of 20 passes Saturday against Western Michigan, including a 47-yard Hail Mary touchdown to win the game. Most fail to recognize he's still a young quarterback.
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"All of his best days are still in front of him," Venables said at his Tuesday news conference. "Won nine games as a starting quarterback, as a true freshman, a tremendous feat in itself. And we've got a great, great challenge."
Venables' defense overwhelmed Underwood last season in Norman, holding him to 142 yards and zero touchdowns. OU's coach also has a successful track record against quarterbacks he's faced multiple times.
But Venables made clear his defense won't take the Wolverines' offense lightly Saturday (11 a.m., Fox) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
"He is in a completely different system this year than what he was a year ago," Venables said. "I don't ever look at it as a life of its own. This guy can run it, he can throw it, he's decisive at making decisions and he's a rhythmic player. He's really good that way."
OU 'can't put a value' on OL Jake Maikkula's potential return
Oklahoma offensive lineman Jake Maikkula is ramping up his participation this week in practice after suffering an injury during a scrimmage last month.
Maikkula missed the Sooners' season-opening win over UTEP but participated in warmups and looked close to a return.
"You can't put a value on what Jake Maikkula means to this football team," OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said, "what he means to the offense, what he means to the confidence of (offensive line coach) Bill Bedenbaugh and what he means to the confidence of his teammates that line up next to him."
Getting Maikkula back would be a huge boost for a Sooners offensive line that started true freshman Noah Best at center against the Miners. Best held his own, rotating between all three interior spots, but OU will need all the help it can get Saturday against a physical Michigan defensive front.
Sophomore Ryan Fodje, who also missed the opener, is getting more work this week. Star left tackle Michael Fasusi's availability is up in the air after he appeared to reinjure his shoulder last week.
Arbuckle says the unit has embraced the challenge of shuffling around.
"It goes back to how (Bedenbaugh) coaches them," Arbuckle said. "How they prepare, how they, as a unit, take on that challenge, and they do it with excitement and enthusiasm and their toughness and physicality and they're truly one whole unit. And so that's exciting to get to coach, and gives you a lot more confidence as a play caller whenever you know your offensive line, they're in it together."
OU's defense was 'overly anxious' in season opener
Venables was visibly upset on the sideline of the Sooners' opener, laying into his defense. He called their play "sloppy."
But he doesn't want his message to be misinterpreted — OU's defense was ready to play, his players just played with their hair on fire.
"We just didn’t play with the cleanliness and discipline that you have to play with," Venables said. "Got a little nosy. Have to make plays. We were overly anxious. Great great effort. Just gotta play a little cleaner."
It felt like the Sooners were trying to make plays at times against a lowly opponent rather than focus on the fundamentals. That'll need to change Saturday, Venables says.
"This game will punish you, no matter who you’re playing," Venables said, "if you don’t do the little things, the basics right. So hopefully we’ll do that a little better. We’ll need to, as something we’ll see this weekend and this season.
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Order “BOOM TIMES: The Oklahoma Sooners’ Epic Charge to the 2026 College World Series Title” at Sooners.ChampsBook.com. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Bryce Underwood is under fire, but OU football offers 'tremendous respect' for Michigan QB