Football <\/p>\n
Central Michigan (1-1) comes to the Big House on Saturday as heavy underdogs against the No. 23 Michigan Wolverines (1-1) in what’s slated for a Noon kickoff.<\/p>\n
The Wolverines are coming off a poor showing against Oklahoma last Saturday in a 24-13 loss, while the Chippewas looks to bounce back after hanging in the game for awhile with Pittsburgh but falling apart in the final quarter of action.<\/p>\n
Central Michigan’s coach is 42-year-old Matt Drinkall, who took over for former CMU coach Jim McElwain ahead of this season after McElwain retired. In fact, Drinkall was a part of a staff at Army in 2019 as a quality control coach that nearly upset the Wolverines in Ann Arbor before Michigan prevailed with an overtime victory on Sept. 7 of that year.<\/p>\n
Now, Drinkall is back in the Big House again and knows he is facing a tough challenge against this Michigan team and a true freshman quarterback in Bryce Underwood, who has impressed him through two games this season.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ll be honest with you: I tried to lie to myself when I got hired and we got the schedule and I saw it and I was like, \u2018Ah, maybe he\u2019s overhyped and not quite as good as everybody [says].\u2019 That is not the case,\u201d Drinkall said (via The Wolverine).<\/a> \u201cHe is incredibly gifted. The thing is, obviously, his physical skills jump off the tape. If you walk by him \u2014\u00a0I\u2019ve never seen him in person, but I imagine \u2014\u00a0he looks like he looks the part. But, man, he is not only a good decision-maker, he is a very decisive decision-maker. He operates the system like a veteran. If no one told you he\u2019s a freshman, you would never in a million years ever think that. Ever. Not by anything. He\u2019s coached incredibly well. They have a great package that allows him to \u2026 the cool part about him, watching him on film as a fan of football, he can do everything. He can do everything. And he\u2019s got a great supporting cast of people that complement him really well. They run a system that does a great job of fitting how all their players play. But, boy, he\u2019s an impressive player.\u201d<\/p>\n Even though Underwood didn’t have the game he was likely envisioning for himself last week, that isn’t stopping coaches like Drinkall and other football minds from recognizing his potential and ceiling as a QB over his next few years in college football.<\/p>\n