The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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QUARTERBACKS THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 49 POSITION COACH Offensive coordinator/quar- terbacks coach Jason Beck is entering his first season at Michigan, after spending last year under head coach Kyle Whittingham at Utah. Beck is heading into his fourth year as an FBS coordinator, with previous stops at Syracuse (2023), New Mexico (2024) and with the Utes (2025). Last season, Utah ranked second nationally in rushing offense (266.3 yards per game), fourth in total offense (482.9), fifth in scoring offense (41.2 points per game) and 82nd in passing offense (216.6 yards a contest). Two Utah offensive players were picked in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, with of- fensive tackles Spencer Fano (No. 9, Cleveland Browns) and Caleb Lomu (No. 28, New England Patriots), the 11th and 12th Utes in program history to become opening-round selections. Quarterback Devon Dampier was named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 2025, af- ter following Beck from New Mexico, where he finished No. 2 in the Mountain West with 2,768 total passing yards in 2024. The Lobos led the Mountain West in total offense (484.3 yards per game) in Beck's one season as the OC. A former quarterback at Ventura College (2002), College of the Canyons (2003) and BYU (2004-06), Beck got his coaching start as an in- tern at BYU (2007) and LSU (2008). He coached quarterbacks at Weber State (2009-11), Simon Fraser (2012; also offensive coordinator), BYU (2013-15), Virginia (2016-21) and Syracuse (2022) before becoming an FBS coordinator. RETURNING PLAYERS CHASE HERBSTREIT So. • Cincinnati Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 198 • Redshirted with no game appearances in 2025. • Ea r n e d C o - S c o u t Te a m Player of the Year honors on offense as a freshman. • Three-year starter at quarterback for St. Xavier, leading the Bombers to a 20-13 re- cord in games that he played. • Career totals of 3,983 yards passing and 32 touchdowns with 14 interceptions in 33 games as a starter, in addition to 657 rush- ing yards and 9 touchdowns. • Son of ESPN and Amazon football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who was a four-year letter- winner at Ohio State (1989-93). His mother, Alison, was an OSU cheerleader. • Brothers, Tye and Jake, played football at Clemson; other brother, Zak, was a walk-on tight end at Ohio State and now works in media for On3. • No. 133 quarterback in the country and No. 100 player in Ohio, per the Rivals Industry Ranking. BRYCE UNDERWOOD So. • Detroit Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 228 • Started all 13 games as a freshman in 2025, complet- ing 60.3 percent of his passes (202-of-335) for 2,428 yards and 11 touchdowns with 9 interceptions. • Added 88 rushes for 392 yards and 6 scores, including taking 20 sacks. • No. 1 overall recruit in 2025 class, per Rivals Industry Ranking. • Second No. 1 prospect to sign with U-M in modern era, joining DL Rashan Gary (2016). • Four-year starter for Belleville (Mich.) High, amassing a 50-4 record in his career with two Division I state championships (2021-22), led the Tigers to an undefeated season in 2022. • Recorded 12,919 all-purpose yards in career, including 11,488 passing yards, and 179 total touchdowns (152 passing) as a starter. • Threw for 2,509 yards with 32 touchdowns and 6 interceptions during his senior season, completing 71.8 percent of his passes, also rushed for over 600 yards with 6 touchdowns. • Two-time Gatorade Michigan Player of the Year (2023, '24). • Michigan Associated Press Division 1-2 Player of the Year in 2021. Year GP/GS Comp. Att. Yards TD INT 2025 13/13 202 335 2,428 11 9 NEWCOMERS TOMMY CARR Fr. • Saline, Mich. Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 185 • Enrolled early in January and stood out in the 2026 spring game, going 21-of-30 passing for 143 yards and rushing 10 times for 67 yards while seeing action for both the Maize and Blue squads. • Father, Jason Carr, was a quarterback at Michi- gan from 1992-95, and his older brother, CJ Carr, is a redshirt sophomore signal-caller for Notre Dame. • Paternal grandfather is Lloyd Carr, the former Michigan head coach from 1995-2007 who led U-M to the 1997 national championship. • Maternal grandfather is Tom Curtis, a former U-M safety (1966-69) and All-American. • 2024 MLive Offensive Player of the Year and Associated Press All-State selection. • Michigan Coaches Association All-State pick in 2025. • Across two seasons as the starter at Saline (Mich.) High, Carr totaled 5,247 yards on 357- of-514 passing (69.5 percent) with 64 touch- downs and 9 interceptions; rushed for 589 yards and 14 touchdowns. • Rated a four-star recruit and the nation's No. 19 quarterback by Rivals. BRAYDEN FOWLER-NICOLOSI Gr. • Aledo, Texas Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 200 • Spent four seasons at Colo- rado State, where he ap- peared in 31 games with 28 starts, completing 583 of his 969 pass attempts (60.2 percent) for 6,938 yards and 38 touchdowns with 29 picks. • Opened the first three games last year before being benched and deciding to move on from the Rams program. He connected on 44 of his 82 passes for 488 yards and 1 score with 2 interceptions. • Posted a 60.5 percent completion rate with 2,796 yards, 14 touchdowns and 9 picks in 2024, also rushing for 4 scores. • Completed 62.1 percent of his throws for 3,460 yards and 22 touchdowns with 16 intercep- tions in 2023. He was named honorable men- tion All-Mountain West. • As a true freshman in 2022, Fowler-Nico- losi competed in three games after enroll- ing early the prior winter. He went 17-of-37 passing for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. • A three-star recruit in the 2022 class, he at- tended Aledo (Texas) High and was the No. 62 quarterback in the nation per the Rivals Industry Ranking. Year GP/GS Comp. Att. Yards TD INT 2022* 3/1 17 37 194 1 2 2023* 12/11 292 470 3,460 22 16 2024* 13/13 230 380 2,796 14 9 2025* 3/3 44 82 488 1 2 Totals 31/28 583 969 6,938 38 29 *at Colorado State BRADY SMIGIEL Fr. • Thousand Oaks, Calif. Ht.: 6-5 • Wt.: 215 • Enrolled early this winter and will redshirt while rehabbing a high school knee injury. • 2024 Los Angeles Times Player of the Year and the Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Football Award winner. • A four-year starter with 13,695 total yards (12,846 passing) and 185 TDs (162 passing). • In six games as a senior, he completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 1,624 yards and 15 TDs, adding 171 rushing yards and 5 TDs. • As a junior, he threw for 3,521 yards and 49 TDs with 3 interceptions; also racked up 435 rushing yards with 11 touchdowns. • A three-star prospect, Smigiel slotted as the No. 438 overall player and No. 28 quarterback in the 2026 class, per Rivals Industry.