The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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24 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2026 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE RETURNING STARTER Sophomore Bryce Underwood Only the fourth freshman ever to start at quarterback for Michigan, Underwood opened all 13 games and led the Wolver- ines to a 9-4 record, where they were on the doorstep for a College Football Playoff berth the entire year but couldn't get over the hump. The 6-foot-4, 228-pounder completed 202 of his 335 passes for 2,428 yards and 11 touchdowns with 9 interceptions, while taking 20 sacks. He also rushed 88 times for 392 yards, scoring 6 times on the ground. A former five-star recruit and the nation's No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 class, Underwood is the projected starter again, but he'll have more competition this season. Last year, he was backed up by Jadyn Davis, who wound up transferring to East Tennessee State, while Mikey Keene (now at Arizona State) was recover- ing from an injury all season. OTHER RETURNEES Sophomore Chase Herbstreit A late addition in the 2025 class, Herb- streit didn't see any game action last season, retaining his redshirt, and was named Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week for his role in preparing the de- fense for Wisconsin. The Cincinnati St. Xavier product is the son of former Ohio State signal-caller and current ESPN an- alyst Kirk Herbstreit. NEWCOMERS Graduate Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi The Colorado State transfer spent four seasons at his previous school and has a year of eligibility remaining. He was rated the 59th-best quarterback in the portal this offseason, per On3. The Aledo, Texas, native appeared in 31 games with 28 starts during his four-year career with the Rams. He completed 583 of his 969 pass attempts (60.2 percent) for 6,938 yards and 38 touchdowns with 29 interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder started the first three games of last season for the Rams but was benched and then decided to move on from the program, preserving a year of eligibility. Fowler-Nicolosi is slated to be the only quarterback with Division I start- ing experience on the roster outside of Underwood. Junior Colin Hurley An LSU transfer, Hurley had one of the more unusual situations of any player in the portal this offseason. The 6-foot-1, 218-pounder enrolled early at LSU at 16 years old, never appeared in any games, was injured in a car crash last spring and may have four years of eligibility remain- ing if he's granted a waiver. The Miami native was a four-star re- cruit and the nation's No. 337 overall pros- pect and 23rd-ranked quarterback in the 2024 class, according to the Rivals Indus- try Ranking. Freshman Tommy Carr The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Saline, Mich., native is the son of former Michigan quar- terback Jason Carr (1991-95) and the grandson of both former U-M head coach Lloyd Carr (1995-2007) and former Wol- verine defensive back Tom Curtis (1966- 69), both members of the College Football Hall of Fame. Beyond all of that, Carr is a talented prospect, checking in as a four-star re- cruit, the country's No. 336 overall player and No. 23 quarterback, per the Rivals In- dustry Ranking. He was originally com- mitted to Miami (Ohio) but was receiving other power-conference interest when he flipped to the Wolverines last fall. Carr completed 176 of his 254 passes (69.3 percent) for 2,737 yards and 37 touchdowns with 8 rushing scores as a prep senior, leading the Saline Hornets to a 10-2 record. Freshman Brady Smigiel Currently recovering from a torn ACL, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Thousand Oaks (Calif.) Newbury Park native was a three- star prospect and the nation's No. 438 overall prospect in 2026. In six games as a prep senior, he connected on 134 of his 208 passes (64.4 percent) for 1,624 yards and 15 touchdowns. QUARTERBACKS ANALYSIS Underwood has a year of starting experience under his belt, more competition to push him and dedicated quarterback coaches in former BYU signal-caller Koy Detmer Jr. and of- fensive coordinator/position coach Jason Beck. Appearing on the "In The Trenches" podcast, Beck said he believes Underwood will "take a jump in Year 2." The mental part of the game — reading defenses, making checks at the line, etc. — will be crucial. "As they have a high level of understanding of that and feel comfortable, then they look at ease playing the position," Beck said of quarterback development. "If they're kind of racing and uncertain, then it looks that way with their feet. They're just fast to get out of the pocket or to take off running or they're kind of all over the place with their feet. With any quarterback, it starts with, what are they thinking, processing, under- standing? And being able to do that at a high level." Bringing in a backup that can push Underwood and has experience in Fowler-Nicolosi was a priority, and developing others that have potential only helps the future look even brighter. "To have someone who has a lot of experience was very important, because you have to invest a lot of your reps into getting Bryce ready, and you need to also be developing these other guys who may not be able to get as many reps. So, they have to have that experience to be able to learn, pick it up and be ready if their number is called," Beck said. Bryce Underwood was one of just two true freshmen to start at q u a r t e r b a c k i n t h e Big Ten in 2025, join- ing Mar yland's Malik Washington. PHOTO BY TY KORNBLUE