Michigan Wolverines QB Bryce Underwood found a mention with Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, but for the wrong reason. Amid a turbulent 2026 campaign, former QB Cam Newton drew a harsh parallel between the pair.

“You don’t think Bryce Underwood is laying low?” Cam Newton said on 4th&1, while discussing privacy for players. “Like, he can’t go anywhere. He can’t go pump gas. He can’t go to the student union. He can’t go to the grocery store. He can barely even go to class.

“Don’t you think somebody’s going to hit him with a Dak Prescott? ‘Embarrassing, embarrassing.’ That’s an invasion of privacy. And now the pedestrians or humans that just partake in everyday life get to see this.”

For context, Newton was referring to the incident when Prescott was hit with a loud “Embarassing!” from a third-party contracted driver as he walked to the locker room after the 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He likened Underwood’s situation to the position in which Prescott was after that loss; the Buccaneers were winless before this matchup.

Bryce Underwood’s second season at Michigan hasn’t gone the way anyone planned, and last week it hit a new low. In the Penn State game, he was benched after the first half, having completed 5 of 11 passes for 43 yards with two interceptions.

Tommy Carr started against Indiana, the reigning national champions.

It’s quite a troubling reality for a QB once heralded as the next big star, particularly for the Wolverines.

Underwood was the top-ranked overall prospect in the class of 2025. He had initially committed to LSU, but flipped to Michigan weeks before National Signing Day. He reportedly signed a $12 million NIL deal to be with the maize and blue.

Last year, Underwood had shown promise. He threw for 2,428 yards and 11 touchdowns, with nine interceptions. However, thus far into his 2026 campaign, Underwood has tallied 924 yards and only five touchdowns. He was scoreless in the first half against Penn State. Carr stepped in to save the day.

“Well, that’s the exact term — a spark for the offense. And he provided it,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said of Carr. “And he came in, and the players rallied around him. And that’s not to be disparaging against Bryce because that’s pretty typical when you have a change in quarterback. Everybody rallies and (plays with more intensity).”

Prescott, too, is in a troubling situation. He had once claimed the Dallas offense was the greatest in the league, but that was clearly not the case. Prescott remains one of the most talented signal-callers in the league. However, bad play-calling and the offense’s underwhelming performance have put him on the back seat, too.

Prescott took offense at the fact that the heckler “cowered” away when he was confronted, but he admitted that the team should have done way better.

“I think [head coach Brian Schottenheimer] said it best in the locker room: In this league, you’ve got to win the games you’re supposed to win,” Prescott said. “And when a winless team comes into your home stadium in a Thursday night primetime game, yeah, we’re supposed to win that.”

That’s the fear Cam Newton is raising. Prescott heard “Embarrassing” in a stadium hallway after one bad night, and Newton worries Underwood could face the same kind of treatment, only louder and more constant. Given the other factors in his situation, it can get troubling for a player his age.

A veteran can shrug off a heckler, but a benched sophomore with a big NIL deal and a home crowd booing him has nowhere to hide.