The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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22 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2026 2026 LOOK AHEAD grandkids one day that I got to coach against Bryce Underwood." As the year progressed, though, Un- derwood stagnated a bit and became less consistent. He protected the ball extremely well in the early going — bet- ter than even expected according to last year's staff — despite not getting great protection up front, but threw 7 inter- ceptions in his last five games and got jumpy in the pocket. Furthermore, his footwork left plenty to be desired, perhaps because he was seeing ghosts and too often throwing off his back foot. New quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer said they noticed some things on film they would try to help him with. "For him this spring, it's sharpening up his toolbox, whether it be with his feet or timing on certain throws and things like that," Detmer said. "We're spending a lot of time one-on-one with him before weights. "The kid is super, super driven, and I'm in the position where I'm just super thankful to be able to work with him. He is a talented young man. The kid works his tail off to be who he wants to be." And Underwood did have some really good moments. The 6-4, 228-pounder completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 2,428 yards and 11 touchdowns while starting all 13 games a year ago, adding 392 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. "When I watch the film, he's a big, athletic, impressive player," new offen- sive coordinator Jason Beck said. "He has a big arm and has a nice presence about him. And to play at this level as a freshman, a true freshman, is really hard. That is really challenging for any- body. "Year 1 to Year 2 — and I should say first year starting for a guy to second year starting — guys take a jump. Just from the experience, just from being through the ups and downs, the game slowing down, just the improvement they make, you make a jump." That's the expectation. WHAT'S THE CEILING FOR THIS OFFENSIVE LINE? Michigan ran the ball well last year, at times, and the offensive line obviously had something to do with that … but how much? There were times when former running back Justice Haynes' footwork and speed created more yardage than there should have been, and at the end of the year —before he got hurt — ju- nior-to-be Jordan Marshall had taken his game to another level, too. New offensive line coach Jim Hard- ing is considered one of the best in the business, having coached several future pros at Utah, and he has a vision for this group. Though he had yet to see them in pads, he was impressed with their de- meanor and "want to." "They have high care factor, are smart, intelligent, and ask good questions in the meetings," he said. "That want-to, almost to a fault … They always want to do extra drill work and things like that. Sometimes you need to give your body a rest, but I'd rather have kids like that than dragging them to try to get extra work." Blake Frazier and Andrew Sprague return as the top tackles, though sec- ond-year Andrew Babalola is recover- ing quickly from last year's preseason knee injury and will be in the mix. Jake Guarnera will likely be the center, while Evan Link and Nathan Efobi are the frontrunners for the guard spots. "I've been really impressed with the group," Harding said. "The things that you can't measure right now are our physicality and toughness, things like that. I'm confident that it won't be an issue. The next step is once we get pads on — who are the alpha dogs in the room Senior cornerback Jyaire Hill has 22 career starts to his credit and earned honorable mention All- Big Ten honors in 2025. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL