One Michigan Football Player Named 'Key Returning Player' Ahead of 2026 Season

After Michigan fired Sherrone Moore with cause following his second season in Ann Arbor, things could've spiraled out of control. But the Wolverines hired Kyle Whittingham, who had 21 seasons under his belt leading Utah, and he did a fantastic job of salvaging the Wolverines' roster.

There were key pieces that left. LB Cole Sullivan, RB Justice Haynes, and some young bucks from the secondary like Jayden Sanders and Elijah Dotson. Yet, there were even more key pieces retained.

According to ESPN's Max Olson, the biggest piece Michigan was able to retain was none other than QB Bryce Underwood.

"New Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham prioritized retaining Underwood as soon as he got the job and met with him before his introductory news conference to seek his feedback on the program and sell him on the new offensive vision. The former No. 1 overall recruit stuck with the Wolverines and stayed out of the portal after a promising debut season in which he produced 2,820 total yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 turnovers over a nine-win season.

"Whittingham and his coaches had several more critical retention wins in January with running back Jordan Marshall returning and OL Andrew Sprague, OL Jake Guarnera, DL Enow Etta and DB Zeke Berry all withdrawing their names from the transfer portal."

Michigan retained a lot of good players, but Underwood was the key

Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) throws the ball against the Texas Longhorns. — Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

While Underwood had an up-and-down freshman season, we can't forget that his potential is through the roof. It wasn't that long ago that Underwood was the most coveted player of the 2025 cycle. The Belleville prospect was ranked No. 1 overall in the class and Michigan made a late surge to flip Underwood from LSU.

Sherrone Moore's staff did Underwood zero favors and he never had a dedicated QB coach. Underwood was raw, but his talent took over at times. With Whittingham bringing over Utah's QB coah Koy Detmer Jr., Underwood will now have someone to help him every step of the way.

"You know, first of all, from what I understand, there was no dedicated quarterback coach working with him on a daily basis," Whittingham said told Urban Meyer in an interview. Which has to happen when you get a young, young man, 17 years old, he didn't turn 18 till like mid-season.

"And so he's a guy that really could have been in high school last year as far as his age. But, there's some things in throwing mechanics and the -- just seems to smooth out n his fundamentals and technique. And we're already got a good start on that.

"And Jason Beck and Koy Detmer, outstanding quarterback developers and coaches. So we're already going down that path, but you talk about a ton of upside and Bryce Underwood's got it all. He's 6-foot-4 and 225 plus and has a cannon arm.