ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A quarterback named Bryce arrived on Jason Beck’s doorstep needing a coach who could harness his dual-threat talents.The last time this happened, Bryce Perkins broke Virginia’s single-season passing record and racked up nearly 8,000 yards of total offense in two years as a starter. Perkins, who plays for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL, said he believes Michigan’s new offensive coordinator can do the same for Bryce Underwood.“He’s going to draw that talent out of him,” Perkins said. “Anything that’s left in there, he’s going to draw it out, for sure.”Beck has had success with quarterbacks who could punish defenses with their arms and their legs, from Taysom Hill at BYU to Perkins at Virginia and Devon Dampier at New Mexico and Utah. Underwood has some of the same athletic traits, plus arm talent that made him the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2025.“I think he’s a much better thrower of the football than I first was in college,” said Perkins, who led Virginia to the ACC championship game in 2019. “I think coach Beck is going to love the type of player he is.”Beck, 46, is in his fourth season as play caller after a decade coaching quarterbacks under Bronco Mendenhall at BYU and Virginia. Coach Kyle Whittingham hired Beck to revamp Utah’s offense a year ago, and Beck has the same task for Michigan’s offense, which had grown stale by the end of Sherrone Moore’s tenure.The past two times Beck walked into a new job, his teams made a significant jump in total offense: from No. 45 in the FBS to No. 4 at New Mexico and No. 115 to No. 4 at Utah. Michigan, which finished No. 59 last season, hopes for a similar turnaround. The Wolverines have playmakers in Jordan Marshall, Savion Hiter, Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan, but a lot hinges on Underwood’s ability to take the next step.Here’s a deeper look at what to expect from Beck’s offense.Can Kyle Whittingham bring stability to Michigan?Austin MeekQB runs in the red zoneBeck, a backup quarterback at BYU, coached QBs at his alma mater from 2013-15, when Hill was breaking out as a multi-dimensional weapon.Hill was the prototype “Thor-terback,” a term the BYU staff used to describe Hill’s versatility and rugged running style. Ever since then, Beck has looked for quarterbacks who can extend plays with their legs and stress defenses in multiple ways.“I love a guy that can be a weapon with his legs in the run game,” Beck said. “He still has to do the other thing at a high level to throw the football and score points and win. But to have a threat (in the run game), I definitely prefer it.”Hill had multiple season-ending injuries at BYU, illustrating the risks of exposing a quarterback to repeated hits. Michigan was reluctant to use Underwood as a runner last year for that very reason. Underwood will be a bigger part of the running game in Beck’s offense, but the new staff still wants him to be smart.“The best runs for us are ones where we can run, get out of bounds or get down and pick up positive yards,” quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. said.Or, even better, find the end zone. Beck likes to put the ball in his quarterback’s hands in the red zone, and it has paid off with a bunch of rushing touchdowns. Dampier scored 19 rushing touchdowns in 2024, third among FBS quarterbacks behind Army’s Bryson Daily and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe.Last year at Utah, Beck split those red-zone carries between Dampier and freshman Byrd Ficklin. The two quarterbacks combined for 20 rushing touchdowns, with Ficklin scoring one out of every six times he carried the ball.Michigan doesn’t have a backup quarterback with Ficklin’s elusiveness, though freshman Tommy Carr is a capable runner. Most of those red-zone touches are likely to go to Underwood, whose 230-pound frame makes him a load to tackle at the goal line.