Michigan’s offense is taking shape as fall camp opens, and the clearest answer on the board is at quarterback: Bryce Underwood is back as the starter in 2026. The bigger question is who sits behind him, and that race looks a lot more alive than the top spot. Tommy Carr has pushed himself into the conversation after a strong spring and summer, and with Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi arriving late as a veteran addition, Carr appears to have the edge for the No. 2 job heading into camp.
At running back, Jordan Marshall gets the starter label, but this feels more like a true split than a clean hierarchy. Marshall is coming off a breakout sophomore season in which he ran for 932 yards and 10 touchdowns, and he remains one of the most important leaders on the team.
Still, true freshman Savion Hiter has clearly made a real impression and brings speed, power and receiving ability to the mix. Behind those two, the room thins out quickly.
Bryson Kuzdzal is next after earning trust in spot duty last season, Jonathan Brown is a freshman worth watching, and Micah Ka’apana would have been in the mix for more in 2026 before a spring leg injury ruled him out for the season.
The receiver group is the deepest Michigan has had in years, and that starts with a sophomore-led top line of Andrew Marsh and Utah transfer J.J. Buchanan.
Those two are positioned to be the main targets this season, with Texas transfer Jaime Ffrench and freshmen Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson forming the next wave. Ffrench may be a little ahead of the two freshmen in terms of early usage, but all three sit in the same general tier right now.
After that, there’s a cluster of returning players - Kendrick Bell, Channing Goodwin and Jamar Browder - fighting for opportunities and spot work.
Tight end remains the least settled spot on offense. Zack Marshall gets the starting nod after last season’s breakout, but the expectation here is a rotation rather than one player separating from the pack.
Hogan Hansen is the biggest unknown; he flashed as a freshman in 2024, was supposed to have a larger role in 2025, and injuries kept him sidelined for much of that season. Mason Bonner is another name to keep in mind after enrolling late, and he could grow into a bigger role as the year goes on.
Up front, Michigan appears to have most of the line mapped out, with one major competition still hanging over fall camp. The projected starters are Blake Frazier at left tackle, Evan Link at left guard, Jake Guarnera at center, Nathan Efobi at right guard and Andrew Sprague at right tackle.
The left tackle battle is the headline here, with Frazier and Andrew Babalola set to fight it out. Babalola is finally healthy after missing his freshman season with a knee injury, and he looks like one of the best five linemen on the roster.
Even if he doesn’t win the job, he should still be part of the rotation and could serve as the “Rhino” as the sixth offensive lineman.
The other key competition is at right guard, where Efobi and Brady Norton are the main contenders, with Efobi currently favored. Deeper in the line rotation, Malakai Lee stands out as a possible early contributor because of both his size - 6-foot-7, 349 pounds - and his status as a highly touted recruit.
In Other News...
Michigan Fans Will Love This Big House End Zone Debate
A look at Michigans home touchdown patterns from the last five seasons turns up a curious Big House quirk: the Wolverines have finished slightly more drives in the north end zone than the south. The edge is slim, though, and the broader point is that both ends of Michigan Stadium have been plenty busy since 2021.
Once the lower-tier opponents are removed from the sample, the split levels out even more, which keeps the debate from becoming much more than a fun fan conversation. Still, the north end zone has been tied to a few memorable moments, and that alone is enough to keep supporters watching for where the next celebration will happen. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Linebacker Problem Has Sent The Wolverines Into The Portal
Michigans linebacker room has become thin enough that the Wolverines are already looking to the transfer portal for help, with interest reportedly building around a pair of experienced options. The names in the mix are Trent Hendrick of James Madison and Jaylen Wester of Western Kentucky, two players who have already made their mark in college football and could give Michigan a much-needed layer of depth if the fit comes together.
What makes this situation worth watching is the timing. Both linebackers are still weighing whether to keep playing and neither has officially settled on a transfer decision, which leaves Michigan in the familiar spot of waiting on portal movement while trying to patch a roster need. For a program that has built its identity on physical defense, finding reinforcements at linebacker feels less like a luxury than a necessity, and the Wolverines may not be done searching if these talks stall. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Is Starting To Look Built For Big Ten Football
When Kyle Whittingham took over the Michigan football program, he saw a roster with plenty of raw athleticism but not enough of the foundational strength needed to hold up over a Big Ten season. Working with Director of Sports Performance Doug Elisaia, he put in place a demanding strength and conditioning program modeled after Utahs approach, with an emphasis on building the kind of power that shows up in the trenches and late in games.
The early results have been hard to miss. Before fall camp even opened, 97% of the players had posted personal bests in the major lifts, a strong sign that the bodywork is already changing the feel of the roster. For Michigan, the bigger question now is how that newly built strength translates once the games start, when the physical demands get real and every week feels like a test. [Read more 🡒]