Fall camp is less than two months away, and the biggest question surrounding Michigan football heading into 2026 is sitting right at the quarterback position. Can quarterback Bryce Underwood actually take the leap everyone is expecting?

SB Nation's Zach Edwards named it the top looming question for Michigan this summer.

"Will Bryce Underwood actually take the sophomore year jump?
There are multiple reasons Michigan fans should be eager to see what quarterback Bryce Underwood will show in Year 2. The least of which being the unspoken cliche that players take a huge jump from their freshman to sophomore seasons," Edwards wrote.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham told reporters during spring practice that Underwood's footwork has improved, and he is making better decisions.

Underwood faced pressure on 127 of 399 total dropbacks last season and completed just 43.4 percent of his passes in those situations. That number has to improve for Michigan to contend in the Big Ten.

"Underwood doesn’t lack any confidence when it comes to his ability — now it’s just time to wait and see if he actually takes that leap, and the players and coaches around him help him out," SB Nation's Zach Edwards wrote.

The infrastructure around him is completely different now. Michigan actually has a dedicated quarterbacks coach for the first time during Underwood's career.

Koy Detmer Jr. joined the staff this offseason. Offensive coordinator Jason Beck spent 15 of his 18 coaching years working specifically with quarterbacks and played the position himself at BYU.

Underwood is not short on belief either. He told reporters at his youth football camp in June that he wants to prove to himself that he is the best player to ever come out of Michigan.

Michigan opens at home against Western Michigan on September 5 before Oklahoma visits the Big House the following week. Both games will give early answers on whether the offseason work is showing up where it counts.

Michigan’s receiver room overhaul should help Bryce Underwood significantly

The receiver room is different now too. Michigan's wideouts dropped 29 passes last season as a unit, per Maize N Brew.

Andrew Marsh caught everything thrown his way last season. Zero drops. He walks into 2026 as the WR1. Ffrench, Buchanan, and Moa are all pushing for time behind him.

Those 29 drops cost Underwood badly last year. His real completion rate, with those as catches, would have been 69 percent instead of 60.3. Fix the drops and the whole stat line looks different.

Do you think Bryce Underwood takes the sophomore leap Michigan is counting on in 2026? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore