Three Michigan players to watch in the Citrus Bowl against Texas

The Michigan Wolverines will take on the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday December 31st at 3pm EST. Both teams narrowly missed the College Football Playoffs this year with 9-3 records and are ranked as the 18th and 13th best teams in the country heading into this game. Despite what each team has accomplished in the regular season, the teams that face off to play each other in this game might look very, very different from the teams that took the field in their final regular season games.

Michigan will be without Head Coach Sherrone Moore who was fired earlier this month and had a few key players already opting to head off the the NFL Draft early. Texas also has a lot of players who are NFL bound and won't play for the Longhorns in this game and also has a bunch of players who have announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal and will not be playing in this game either.

While both teams will look very different, there will still be a bunch of very talented players all over the field in this game. It'll be a good look at how each team might look next season with a lot of underclassmen getting the chance to play in this game that may not have played much throughout the year. Now let's dive into the key players to watch for Michigan in this Citrus Bowl matchup against the Texas Longhorns.

Player #1: Bryce Underwood

Bryce Underwood had a very up and down season as Michigan's starting quarterback. He showed flashes of brilliance at times but there were also many games where he was seemingly a non-factor in terms of affecting Michigan's chances of winning. In his final regular season game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, he completed just 8/18 passes for 63 yards and 1 INT with 0 TD's. He will surely want to get that poor performance out of people's minds and give Michigan fans hope that with a new Head Coach and a new Offensive Coordinator in 2026, that things are surely on the up and up as they head into next season.

Texas has had a good defense for most of the season but they actually fired their Defensive Coordinator prior to this game. It will be a good chance for Bryce Underwood to go out there against high quality players and let it all hang loose as his final game in his true Freshman season and I'm very interested to see how he plays in this game.

Players #2: Jordan Marshall

Jordan Marshall took over for the injured Justice Haynes mid-season and once he had to take on more carries, he really excelled with the opportunities he was given. On the season he has carried the ball 150 times for 932 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and 10 TD's. He's been terrific for Michigan late this season and I'll be interested in seeing if he can keep it going against a salty and talented Texas front seven on defense.

There's a chance Justice Haynes opts to return to Michigan for 2026, but more than likely, it will be Jordan Marshall leading the Michigan backfield next season for the Wolverines. This matchup against Texas will be a good chance to show what he's capable of as he enters his third year in the Michigan program following this game.

Player #3: Jyaire Hill

Jyaire Hill may have an NFL Draft decision to make after this game because he has all the traits that NFL teams look for in cornerbacks. He's long, lanky, fast, and has been sticky this year in coverage for Michigan. That being said, he's not a perfect prospect yet and he could use some more seasoning in college before he heads to the professional ranks.

This Texas wide receiver room is a very talented one and this will be a good a chance for him to test himself with whoever he's matchup up against in this game. If he excels against this wide receiving core for the Longhorns it may springboard him up NFL Draft lists, or it might set him up for a big 2026 as a Michigan Wolverine as one of the better returning CB's in the Big Ten next season.

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