Michigan football has a lot of talented players returning as well as coming in via the transfer portal. If former Utah edge rusher John Henry Daley is healthy and productive this season, he could be among the best of the best, as could fellow former Utah cornerback Smith Snowden. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see sophomore wide receiver Andrew Marsh light things up, nor would it redshirt sophomore running back Jordan Marshall.
Yet, everyone knows who the alpha dog on the team is.
ESPN put together the best returning player for every team it ranked in its too-early top 25, and second-year quarterback Bryce Underwood was listed as the top player for the Wolverines.
Key player retained: Bryce Underwood, QB
New Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham prioritized retaining Underwood as soon as he got the job and met with him before his introductory news conference to seek his feedback on the program and sell him on the new offensive vision. The former No. 1 overall recruit stuck with the Wolverines and stayed out of the portal after a promising debut season in which he produced 2,820 total yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 turnovers over a nine-win season. Whittingham and his coaches had several more critical retention wins in January with running back Jordan Marshall returning and OL Andrew Sprague, OL Jake Guarnera, DL Enow Etta and DB Zeke Berry all withdrawing their names from the transfer portal.
Certainly, Underwood has the highest ceiling, and that may be the case across college football, not just the team specifically. But he’ll have to rise to the occasion, especially if the Wolverines are to get through a tough slog of a schedule in 2026.
Underwood not only has new coaches in offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr., but he hired a personal QB coach this offseason, one who has worked with luminaries in the NFL such as Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Trevor Lawrence.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: ESPN names Michigan QB Bryce Underwood Wolverines’ key player
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
