2026 UM Football season

The Den
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# Bryce Underwood compares favorably to Kyle Whittingham’s previous QB

,Underwood forced 18 missed tackles on 88 rushes (20.5% forced missed tackle rate), while Dampier had 27 on 146 carries (18.5%), according to Pro Football Focus. Underwood also had 17 carries of 10 or more yards (19.3% of attempts), notably higher than Dampier 's 21 such rushes (14.4%), though Dampier did have the edge in first downs, moving the sticks on 45 of his carries (30.8%) while Underwood did so 22 times (25%).

While Dampier had more than twice as many rushing yards and touchdowns as Underwood, the efficiency was rather similar, with frequency responsible for much of the difference. Dampier ran the ball at least 10 times in 10 different games, while Underwood only had one game with more than nine carries: the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against Texas, when he ran 14 times for 69 yards and a score.

It’s why U-M feels it has a quarterback capable of mirroring that production.

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… it’s worth noting how Dampier was used through the air, too. Last season, Utah’s QB was certainly more efficient than Underwood, throwing more than twice as many touchdowns (24 vs. 11), essentially half as many interceptions (5 vs. 9), and more passing yards (2,490 vs. 2,428) despite one fewer attempt.

Some of this could be reasonably attributed to experience, but there were also slight differences in concepts and route depth. Underwood had more dropbacks in play-action (36.6%) than Dampier (32.5%) in the regular season and also threw significantly more screens (16.1%) than Dampier (8.1%).

Underwood also took fewer deep shots, with 56.4% of his attempts all year coming with 10 yards of the line of scrimmage or behind it, while 52.6% of Dampier’s attempts were on such throws. But overall, the attempts were pretty close − Underwood threw 55 passes of 20 yards or more, Dampier had 54; Underwood threw 79 passes between 10-19 yards downfield, Dampier had 82.

One major difference? Dampier’s pass-catchers dropped just eight passes all year compared to 28 for Underwood.

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) celebrates a touchdown against Central Michigan during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.

That’s why Underwood’s adjusted completion rate, per PFF, was higher than Dampier on passes of 0-9 yards (85.0% vs. 82.9%), and deep balls (36.4% vs. 31.5%). For perspective, if Underwood had 20 fewer drops, that would’ve been nearly an additional 150 yards (based on his average completion of 7.2 yards per throw) and his completion rate would’ve been 66.2%, higher than Dampier’s 63.5%.

Point is, the underlying numbers were surprisingly similar between Underwood and Dampier in 2025. It gives reason to believe things could improve for the U-M signal caller in his sophomore season, with a better system, fewer drops and more experience. But the main expected difference is how Underwood will be used in the rushing game.

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With the talent Michigan has now compiled amongst pass catchers we should see that drop rate go down significantly.

Excited to see the progression in pass pro from the Oline as well. For a youthful group they were plus run blockers, now it’s about them developing in pass pro. Understandably so, as that’s a huge adjustment for HS to college Olinemen

My biggest concern for Michigan this year is the LB play, mostly because it’s an unknown group

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# Andrew Marsh sets lofty goals in return to Michigan football

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Expectations this season are high for Marsh, an honorable mention All-Big Ten last season as a freshman who started eight games and had 651 yards on 45 catches and four touchdowns. Described by new Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham as a “tremendous talent,"Marsh is the leader in the receiver room both on and off the field.

Whittingham was hired late last December and as the Wolverines were preparing for the bowl game, he made clear his first priority was keeping quarterback Bryce Underwood, who started as a freshman, on the roster. A not-too-distant second priority was making sure Marsh remained at Michigan.

“For me, I kind of wanted to be back here,” Marsh said Friday when asked how much he considered leaving after the coaching transition. “This is somewhere I really didn’t want to leave. It was really more making sure the guys were coming back. We all really wanted to come back together.”

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# Michigan hopes to have starting offensive line set 2 weeks before opener

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Harding has no complaints about the talent he inherited, and while he’s been around the players for the last eight months and has a good feel for the personnel, camp is when the potential starters start to separate themselves.

…“The way (Whittingham) runs camp, we’ll have essentially two scrimmages, (and) you want that thing dialed in as best you can by the end of the second scrimmage,” Harding said.

…What he does know is right tackle Andrew Sprague has stood out at that spot.

“I’d say it’s his to lose,” Harding said. “I think he made a lot of strides in the spring. Could he perform poorly and lose it? I don’t want to say anything’s etched in stone, but he’s put himself in a position where my expectation now is, you’re pretty locked into what you’re doing, so I need you to be more vocal — build chemistry, reach out to the younger players. That’s been my challenge to him.”

Jake Guarnera, who moved to center from right guard in the bowl game, also appears to be a lock and the anchor of the offensive line.

“I’d say he’s established himself as a leader in the room,” Harding said. “The kids have a lot of confidence in how he directs the line of scrimmage, the calls and such. It would take him really screwing something up for me to not feel comfortable playing him (in the opener).”

Harding has a good amount of talent from which to select a left tackle and the guards, which is why he has moved them around and will continue to do so during camp.

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a good amount of talent from which to select a left tackle and the guards, which is why he has moved them around and will continue to do so during camp.

“My pitch to them, and this helps us, too, is that if you show versatility at the college level, that’s what the NFL is looking for,” Harding said. “You might not play multiple spots in a game, but if you can prove you can play a couple different spots, you’re more marketable at the next level. For us it’s all about finding the best five to help us be successful on Saturday. For them as players, my message is that it’ll help them in the long run, unless they happen to be the best left tackle wherever they end up.”

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The most compelling competition is at left tackle between Blake Frazier and Andrew Babalola, who is returning from an ACL injury suffered in camp a year ago. Babalola was a five-star recruit in high school.

“We haven’t moved (Frazier from tackle) these last two days, but it goes back to finding the best five,” Harding said. “We had some shuffling of the line (Thursday) compared to Day 1. These are great kids and it’s an incredible room. They’re young, but they’ve got some snaps under their belt, and they just want to find a way to get on the field. If that ends up meaning him or anyone else moving inside, I think they’d embrace it. I don’t want to speak for them, but based on what I’ve observed, they’d do whatever’s best for the team and put themselves in a position to play more.”

Babalola missed the spring but has participated in the first two practices.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen him live,” Harding said. “I went back and watched last fall camp in preparation for spring ball, just to get an idea of the game film, since guys like him and Link had missed the beginning part of spring ball. So I didn’t have much to go off in terms of the winter workouts either. He’s an extremely talented kid. He’s a full participant and certainly in the mix to be one of the top five guys.”

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# OC Jason Beck wants toughness to be Michigan’s offensive personality

“Right now, feel really good about the run game, the running backs, having the QB a part of that, the O-line being productive in there with the tight ends,” Beck said Wednesday. “So feel the run game’s strong. Now it’s a matter of taking steps forward in the other areas in the pass game.

“But still working to find our identity, kind of find our path and direction that we’ll be headed. But great first day. Really impressed with how the guys looked. You can tell they had a really good summer. Obviously, that’s a credit to the strength staff, but that’s also just a reflection of the kids, their buy-in, and their commitment to what we’re doing. Really impressed with just how they look, and good first day of practice.”

Beck, in one year at Utah, resuscitated an offense that was toward the bottom of the national rankings in 2024 and saw it skyrocket to No. 4 nationally, averaging 482.9 yards last year. The Utes were second in rushing nationally, averaging 266.3 yards per game.

Now, Beck is tasked with working the same kind of magic in Ann Arbor this year with a team that ranked 58th nationally in total offense (396.9 yards) and 14th in rushing (210.2 yards) but was ranked 105th in passing (186.8 yards). He called an offense last year suited to Utah quarterback Devon Dampier and is shaping Michigan’s offense around Underwood.

“I saw it firsthand all last year at Utah,” Whittingham said last week at Big Ten media days, referring to Beck’s success. "He took an offense that was anemic the year before, for lack of a better term, and turned it into a powerhouse. We were, I think, fourth in the nation in scoring, second in rushing, first in red-zone production. Category after category, he took us from almost the last spots in the nation up to the top 10. He’s a master of getting the most out of each player, putting players in positions to succeed, both schematically and what we line them up at

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Tricky thing is the schedule. Top 15 hardest in BCS.

4 auto Wins - WMU, UTEP, Rutgers, UCLA.

3 should wins - Iowa, MSU, Minnesota.

3 difficult home games - Oklahoma, Indiana, Penn St

2 extremely difficult road games - Oregon, OSU.

They win the 7 should win games. And win the 3 tough home games. 10-2 is playoffs!

9-3 only gets in if those 3 losses are to all top 5 teams.

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https://x.com/i/status/2085742627803050482

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True but the silver lining from last season is the youth of the team gained a ton of experience. We have players in key positions that are now upper class man. Especially on the offensive line and secondary. That should help with the schedule.

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Regardless of the record I think this is going to be a really fun year for Michigan football. Hopefully zero drama, and just good football.

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I think it’s a great year to be excited about Michigan football. I don’t expect a national championship run, but I am excited to see the development of the roster.

https://x.com/CSayf23/status/2090858060302430332

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It will be interesting to see what Bryce can do with a competent head coach.

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If you look at the pieces and veteran leadership on the defense it has a very good chance of being one of the best in the country. If the offensive line plays up to its talent Michigan could be a very interesting team.

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Our skilled positions are no joke either. I think it will really come down to how everyone meshes together. I don’t see a lack of talent at all.

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I could see uofm going 8-4 or 10-2

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Only position group I’m worried about is LB.

Will be interesting to see how the TE group plays also, the rest of the groups are probably all plus groups.

Old staff didn’t work out for obvious reasons, but they did a pretty d@mn good job recruiting

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I agree. Thats why it bothers me when people pile on to Moore. Not because hes perfect by any means, but he did do some good things while he was here.

Everyone fuks up. It’s how we rise up afterwards that defines us.

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I’m not as worried after hearing about that kid we picked up from North Dakota State. I keep hearing he’s a really good athlete. He’s got a lot of experience. It would be huge if he can lock down that veteran presence in that room.

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Moore did do some good things. Having said that, there is zero excuse not to have a dedicated quarterback coach for a 17 year old player you knew you were going to have to count heavily on. Also allowing yourself to get blackmailed by players into playing time when they absolutely shouldn’t have been playing. Moore absolutely deserves everything that came his way in the form of criticism.

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Didn’t he have 31 tackles last year? I mean I haven’t seen the film, but that’s way below average for an FCS starting LB

I guess I need to see it to believe it

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They did have one, don’t believe everything the media tells you

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