Will Johnson knows Michigan football from the inside. He played three seasons for the Wolverines and won a national championship in 2023. And he revealed Bryce Underwood's biggest strengths.

Johnson was asked what makes Underwood so special in a recent Instagram reel posted by content creator Cayden Kubler.

"Just his arm talent, big size, athletic," Johnson said. "He has all the tools it takes to be a great quarterback, so he's got to do what he needs to do to put it all together."

Underwood finished his freshman season with 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns, and a completion rate of 60.3%. Michigan went 9-4 and lost the Citrus Bowl to Texas.

Recently, the Sporting News' Bill Bender prepared the list of top 25 QBs entering the 2026 season, and he ranked Underwood at the 23rd spot.

"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," Isaiah Hole of Wolverines Wire wrote May 30.

Underwood didn't receive a lot of coaching in his first year under former coach Sherrone Moore. But now, new head coach Kyle Whittingham brought in quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. specifically to work on the things Johnson mentioned.

The tools are definitely real, especially since Underwood also ran for 392 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman. When everything finally clicks, this offense is going to be genuinely scary.

Michigan Eyes a Massive Sophomore Leap for Bryce Underwood

Coaching stability has been hard to come by in Ann Arbor. Kyle Whittingham is Michigan’s third head coach in four years, while Jason Beck is the team's fourth offensive coordinator in that same stretch. And already the second of Underwood’s career.

"Underwood’s development isn’t rooted in him simply mastering his mechanics, although that is a part of the equation. But the driving factor is implementing a system around him to make failure impossible," Andrew Bailey of Maize N Brew reported May 27.

Analysts are definitely noticing the potential shift in Ann Arbor, too. Yahoo Sports pointed out that top quarterback recruits almost always take a massive step forward in year two.

Even though ESPN’s David Hale put Underwood in Tier 5, he admitted the raw tools, but also pointed out the Christian Hackenberg Paradox.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore