The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 45 built a brotherhood here, and I told those guys that we would finish here, no mat- ter what." Investing time around his new mentors only confirmed that commitment. "It's been amazing, spending time with each other outside of football," Under- wood said. "Seeing who we are as people, trying to bring it all together as one. "They want me to just use everything God gifted me with — my leadership skills, my ability, my talents." He'll enjoy upgraded and more experi- enced receivers this season, with record- setting sophomore Andrew Marsh and Utah-import sophomore JJ Buchanan leading the way, along with a host of oth- ers, including some explosive freshmen such as another Utah import, Salesi Moa. "I'm just excited to see what those guys have got," Underwood said. "Salesi … yeah. We've got some great talent com- ing in. Definitely, it gets me excited." The previous regime wanted to limit Underwood's rushing, so as to shield him from injury. Some of the talk coming from those who have watched practice involves a quarterback turned loose to a greater degree this year. "I enjoy every part of the game that helps my team win," Underwood said. "My team being successful is my main mindset. Whatever I need to get to for my team, that's what I'm willing to do. No matter if it's taking a big hit, avoiding a bit hit. That's what I'll do." Fellow spring captain and junior run- ning back Jordan Marshall knows the role this Michigan offense can play in getting the Wolverines where they all hope to be. He sees Underwood as a vital weapon, one that won't stop pushing until he fully breaks through. "He's going to be better," Marshall guaranteed of his backfield mate. "I'm still going to say he's going to win the Heisman someday. I still hold that to be true. He's getting coached hard. They're demanding the best out of him. I'm de- manding the best out of him. His team- mates are, and that's how it should be. He should demand the best out of me. I'm really excited to see the growth, and for everybody to see that growth that he's made. "He's playing with a chip on his shoul- der. The concepts fit how we want to play. We want to play fast, we want to play physical, but we also want to air the ball out a little more. We want to let 19 be dynamic and really show who he is. It fits him amazingly, and I'm excited to see what he does with the receivers and everybody on the offense in this new sys- tem." Marshall also shares with Underwood a burning desire to see Michigan rise from recent indignities to power status. "Bryce is a leader," Marshall insisted. "That's how he is. It's a reason we all wanted to come back and make this place better. We want to put Michigan back at the top. Bryce being an in-state kid, knowing how much Michigan means to him and his family … he loves this place. He truly does. I love this place, and we just want to see this place be the best. "He's demanding of himself to be the best. Sometimes he puts too much pres- sure on himself, but it's the expectation you have to have at this university. We have to have the expectation to win every game against our rivals, beat the Big Ten and win the natty. That's always going to be our expectations here. Nothing less than that. Every single game, there's not an excuse. That's the pressure you want to have. For him, he's attacking that every single day. "He puts stuff on himself all the time, and I'm like, 'We've all got to be better. You can't just put it on yourself.' It's really exciting the accountability he's had on himself, the leadership he's taken, being more vocal, talking to receivers after the play, talking to me after plays. What did I think about this? It's that willingness to take feedback from the players and the coaches as well. We're truly all aligned and coming together to be better." How much better? "We'll be much more explosive," Un- derwood quietly assured. "And we'll come out way faster." ❑ The Jump From Freshman To Sophomore Michigan has featured four quarterbacks starting full-time as true freshmen, including Bryce Underwood. Here is a look at the jump the first three made from their rookie season to their sophomore campaign. Rick Leach, 1975 — Leach guided Michigan to an 8-2-2 record as a true freshman. He went 32-for-100 passing, 32.0 percent, for 680 yards, 3 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Running an option offense, he also ran for 552 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry with 5 rushing touchdowns. That year, the Wolverines tied Stanford (19-19) and Baylor (14-14) at home in the nonconference campaign. They then won seven straight, but fell to Ohio State at home, 21-14, with Leach throwing crucial interceptions late in that contest. They then lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, 14-6. The following year, Leach guided the Wolverines to a 10-2 record and a tie with Ohio State for the Big Ten championship. He went 50-for-105 passing (48.0 percent) with 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He also rushed for 638 yards on 114 tries, averaging 6.0 yards per run. The Wolverines won their first eight games that season, outscoring foes, 353-58. They dropped a heartbreaker at Purdue, 16-14, but finished the regular season with two more victories, beat- ing Ohio State in Columbus, 22-0. Chad Henne, 2004 — Henne guided Michigan to a Big Ten championship in 2004, the only freshman quarterback in U-M history ever to do so. The Wolverines went 9-3, 7-1 in the Big Ten which tied Iowa for first. Henne threw for 2,743 yards, going 240-for-399 (60.2 percent) with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Wolverines lost to Notre Dame early that sea- son, then dropped the final two, at Ohio State (37-21) and to Texas in a Rose Bowl shootout classic, 38-37. As a sophomore, Henne's numbers went down slightly for a banged-up Michigan team that went 7-5. Henne threw for 2,526 yards on 223-for-382 passing (58.4 percent) with 23 touch- downs and 8 interceptions. Tate Forcier, 2009 — Forcier led a 5-7 Michigan squad in 2009. He started all 12 games at quarterback, completing 165 of 281 passes (58.7 percent) for 2,050 yards and 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. As a sophomore, Forcier gave way to Denard Robinson as the team's primary quarterback. Forcier played in eight games, going 54-for-84 (64.3 percent) passing for 597 yards, with 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He transferred out after the 2010 season, given Robinson's takeover at the helm of a 7-6 football team. — John Borton