Bryce Underwood lands on top 25 quarterback list
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Michigan football hopes that with Kyle Whittingham leading the charge, Jason Beck overseeing the offense, and Koy Detmer Jr. leading the quarterback room, the pass game can be revamped in Ann Arbor. But seeing is believing, and we won't know for certain Bryce Underwood's improvement until he takes the field on September 5 against Western Michigan. But some have faith that as Underwood enters his second year in college football, he's rise sharply up the ranks.
You can include Sporting News' Bill Bender among those who believe.
Bender put together a ranking of the top 25 quarterbacks in college football entering the 2026 season, and he listed Underwood as the No. 23 quarterback overall.
23. Bryce Underwood, Michigan
2025 stats: 2,428 yards, 60.3%, 11 TDs, 9 INTs; 392 rushing yards, 6 TDs
Underwood – a 6-foot-4, 228-pound sophomore – moves up two spots from last season. That might not be the expected jump from Michigan fans, but consistency was an issue in a season where Underwood had six games with less than 200 passing yards. He had an 86.4 passer rating with two TDs and four interceptions against ranked teams. The good news? Underwood gets a reset with new coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Jason Beck, which should unlock more of that five-star talent in Year 2.
That would be a solid development for the Wolverines if Underwood were the 23rd-best quarterback in the country, even if expectations for his trajectory are ultimately higher than that.
The former No. 1 recruit in the country, Underwood reportedly didn't get a lot of coaching in his freshman year, which tamped down immediate expectations from many analysts regionally and nationally. But players tend to improve year over year, especially going from year one to year two, and with Beck's innovative offense, the pressure shouldn't be on Underwood to carry the offense.
His ranking is the good news, but others' rankings are the bad news. The 2026 schedule features several other quarterbacks that Michigan will see, including No. 24 Rocco Becht (Penn State), No. 22 John Mateer (Oklahoma), No. 11 Josh Hoover (Indiana), No. 6 Dante Moore (Oregon), and No. 5 Julian Sayin (Ohio State).
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan QB Bryce Underwood ranked in top 25 list
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