The future of Michigan football

Joining us now, though, we do have one of our guys, Jerry Mason. You've been Booster. He's an attorney. Jerry, how are you this Friday? Great to see you. I miss you. Hey, I miss you, too. It's good to reconnect. Look, man, it's been an up-and-down season so far. However, it's crazy to say Michigan is not far out from making a run to the playoff because you've got 12 teams. Anything is possible. How are you feeling about this game tomorrow, first and foremost? Well, Kurt Cignetti's going to come in and try to run a clinic. He is a football coach's coach. He's a Nick Saban disciple. We're probably one of the most talented teams in the country, just in terms of raw talent in our roster. Indiana will come in with less talent, but they will be prepared, uber-prepared for the game. So you're going to see this is essentially a test of two different coaching styles and two different coaching staffs. All right. So I got to ask a couple of questions with this quarterback drama that's been unfolding over the past couple of weeks here. So I got to ask, was or is Coach Whittingham doing the right thing by starting Tommy Carr? Absolutely. You have got to put a quarterback in who can lead the team. Bryce Underwood understands that. Bryce Underwood is a team leader and a team captain he is openly supporting and helping Tommy Carr but coach Whittingham was spot on to do uh what needed to be done for the team remember it's a team sport it's not just about whether or not the person who thinks they should be the starting quarterback is the starting quarterback of course the other question is Bryce Underwood i know that you know all the reports have been he's been uh he's been taking this uh in stride he has been helping Tommy Carr, as you were saying. He has been a model player, a model leader. But we can't ignore that he has been paid a lot of money, but now he's going to be essentially holding a clipboard. So how do you think this situation is going to be paid out or played out? Well, firstly, you have to remember what Jamie Morris, the U of M great running back, says. You're only one play away from being the starter. Anything can happen on college football game day usually does. So Bryce Underwood is going to have to prepare every week, just like he's going to be the starting quarterback, exactly the way Tommy Carr did. Tommy Carr prepared to be the starting quarterback, and he wound up being the starting quarterback, and he was ready for it due to his work on the field and in the video conference room where they watch game film. So Bryce Underwood's going to have to do the exact same thing he'll be preparing for the games supporting Tommy um am i answering your question did i get that right no yeah yeah you you're you're hitting on it you're hitting on it jerry so so they they know that these guys know that anything can happen um bryce underwood's being well paid he's guaranteed three million a year for the first two years the issue will be he's an incredibly talented athlete what happens with his nil at the end of this season Do they renegotiate it? Does he decide to stay or try to transfer? The coaches are going to have to determine how to best use Bryce Underwood to help the team because he is a star. He's an extraordinary athlete, even if he's not starting at quarterback. He's extraordinary, and they can find a place to use him. That is coaching. Meanwhile, I think Tommy Carr is just going to be focused on leading the team. He's a terrific kid. Of course, his brother is starting at Notre Dame. The Carr family is just a tremendous family. They're always giving to the University of Michigan and back to the community. Lloyd Carr, former U of M coach, if my memory's correct, he was the starting quarterback at Northern Michigan University when they won the national championship in 1969. So Tommy Carr knows how to be a quarterback, but he's young. He's a true freshman out of Saline High School. He's going to make mistakes because regardless of how he appears, because he looks like a pro quarterback out there when you watch him, he is going to make some mistakes because he's a true freshman in college. Look, I know it's easy to say in this day, well, pre-NIL days, it's easy for Bryce Underwood to sit on the bench and just wait for his opportunity, but we're now in a world of NIL where a lot of these players, they're commanding a lot of money if they don't get the ball right away and quarterback you can only have one quarterback because if you have two quarterbacks the saying is you have no quarterbacks however um what do you hope can be done or said to this young man Bryce Underwood to at least keep him around and help him continue to develop because we see a lot of cautionary tales of quarterbacks who do transfer and then way after their playing days are over with they always say well, you know what, I wish I had stayed? I think everybody who's left Michigan wishes they would have stayed, and you can ask Drew Henson that. If Drew Henson would have stayed at Michigan, we probably would have won a national championship, and he would have made a lot more money as a pro athlete. But young people are often given bad advice. You're only as good as your mentors, whether you're a news anchor, a lawyer, or a young college athlete. But I would answer Bryce Underwood's question, or any athlete's question at U of M, with the Bo Schembechler quote from 1969. Bo came in, he was putting the team through hell, he was making them work, people were complaining, some guys were threatening to quit, and Bo said to them, those who stay will be champions. And if you stay at Michigan, you will be a champion. But you've got to do the work. The team comes first. And then with excellence and hard work and being part of a team, you'll get a championship. As a strong supporter of Michigan, I do have to ask, do you think Bryce Underwood was given too much money too soon? Well, he was given what the market allows. I don't think he was given too much money too soon. I'm a capitalist. I'm a free market guy. I want to see these young athletes get paid. I don't know if it was Desmond Howard or if it was, I can't think of who the Michigan great is, who was walking down Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and his jersey was Charles Woodson. It might have been Charles Woodson. Walking down Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and there's a Michigan Charles Woodson jersey hanging up in the window at some sports shop. And he couldn't afford to buy it. He couldn't afford to buy a jersey with his name on it. So the kids are entitled to some compensation for their name, image, and likeness. So I think that Bryce Underwood got what the market will bear. He's expected to perform. He has a contract that protects Michigan and protects him. So there's nothing wrong with that. Lastly, before I let you go, man, are you going to the game? And what is your prediction against Indiana this weekend? Oh, boy. I go to all the games. This is my 38th year of Michigan football. Homecoming was the best. That was last weekend. and that was just terrific. That's my favorite game of the year. But, yeah, we'll be there, and it's going to be fascinating. We're going to see what Kurt Signetti, how he plays in Ann Arbor. Prediction, I think it's going to be a very, very close game. I'll give an edge to Michigan. They're at home. Tommy Carr's in at QB. He's got the team fired up, the fans fired up. But it's going to be close. I'd say something like 27 to 24 maybe, or 24 to 20. it's going to be a close game. Defense wins championships. I'm old, so I'm going to say stuff that old guys say. Protect the football, no stupid penalties. Defense wins championships. And I'll leave you at this. I'll leave you with what Jimmy Harbaugh used to tell my son when my son worked for him for five years, and this is what he told the team. Practice is supposed to be harder than the game. So whatever team practices the hardest this week and prepares the hardest this week. We'll have the most fun on Saturday. Jerry Mason, always good to talk to you, man. Always good to catch up. And we'll try to look for you on TV tomorrow if we're not in Ann Arbor. I'm sitting in the front row. I'm easy to find. I'll be wearing maize and blue. So if you look for me, I'll have something maize and blue on. I'm sitting in the front row and I'll be thinking about you because I know that your spouse is a Wolverine. Yeah, my wife is a Wolverine, so we will definitely be watching the game tomorrow. Hey, take care, and we'll catch up with you soon. Go Blue! Go Blue!