Michigan football is able to retain young star for 2026 season

Michigan football will have a whole new coaching staff in 2026 following the dismissal of Sherrone Moore. The new coaching staff didn't have a lot of time to hit the ground running in terms of roster retention given that Sherrone Moore was fired so late in the coaching cycle, so that really had to be aggressive when it came to roster retention.

New Head Coach Kyle Whittingham said his 'top priority' was roster retention and the news that Andrew Marsh will return to Michigan for 2026 is a huge part of that plan. Marsh was arguably Michigan's best offensive player last season and he did it all as a true Freshman who didn't even break the starting lineup until part way through the year.

Michigan has also recently announced that Bryce Underwood, Blake Frazier, and Andrew Babalola are all set to return for Michigan's offense in 2026 as well. Zeke Berry also entered the portal, but the Wolverines were able to talk him into coming back to Michigan as well. So far, Kyle Whittingham and his new staff have done exactly what they promised and have done as good a job as you could hope for in retaining the talent already on the wolverines roster.

Marsh's freshman season

Despite not starting the entire year, Andrew Marsh led Michigan in receptions, receiving yards, and TD's. He finished his Freshman campaign with 45 catches for 651 yards and 4 TD's. He was also a big play threat for Michigan. as he averaged 14.5 yards per reception.

He emerged as a true star for Michigan's offense when he was inserted into the starting lineup after Michigan's first bye week of the season. From that point on he was Michigan's best wide receiver by far and arguably one of the best in the Big Ten. His top performance came against Northwestern late in the season when he caught 12 passes for 189 yards and 1 TD.

Marsh's future

Had he jumped into the portal, he surely would've been one of the best wide receivers to enter the transfer portal this off-season. The fact that he never actually entered is a huge credit to Kyle Whittingham and the new Michigan coaching staff. It would've been very easy for the Katy, TX native to jump into the transfer portal and seek a different option, especially since Michigan hasn't exactly lit the world on fire through the air in the recent past. He would've had no shortage of big time schools after him, and presumably some of them from his own home state of Texas as well as other SEC and Big Ten powers.

With Andrew Marsh returning to Michigan for 2026, he's got a great opportunity to continue to elevate his play. It'll be very exciting to see what he can accomplish with a full season as a starting player, in a new offense, and with a more experienced quarterback in Bryce Underwood already committed to throwing to him next season. The sky is the limit for this kid as he truly had one of the best true Freshman seasons for a wide receiver in Michigan history this past year.

This was a big time move for Kyle Whittingham and his staff to keep him on board as a Michigan Wolverine entering next year.

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