As Kyle Whittingham gets ready to begin his debut season with the Wolverines, he needs his QB1, Bryce Underwood, to be able to play much better than he did in 2025. That said, if injury does strike, there needs to be some depth in the QB room at Ann Arbor.

Whittingham got a huge boost right as Big Ten Media Days kicked off. The Wolverines received official word that freshman quarterback Brady Smigiel has been fully cleared for football activities. For a team with championship aspirations, getting a prized young passer back healthy changes the entire mood.

As per Los Angeles Times’ Eric Sondheimer, Joe Smigiel, Brady Smigiel’s father, confirmed the news of his son’s recovery. He revealed that his son is officially cleared from ACL after undergoing surgery on the knee injury he picked up last October. Having been recovering for close to nine months and working hard to be back in time, he is now playing football.

Brady Smigiel was playing for his high school team, Newbury Park, California, when he suffered a torn ACL injury to his left leg. His team won the game 31-21 against Saint Barbara, but it marked the end of his senior season. The injury came after he leapt over the goal line for a touchdown that increased his side’s lead to 21-17. After he was assisted off the field, the initial reports suggested he suffered a knee injury until the MRI scan confirmed it was an ACL tear.

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The Wolverines’ 2026 recruiting class was ranked No. 11 in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten, according to On3. In the quarterback unit, four-star Brady Smigiel is joined by three-star quarterback Tommy Carr. Carr was particularly exceptional during spring camp, and former NFL All-Pro safety Eric Weddle tipped him to grab the QB1 spot from Bryce Underwood.

“Mark my words, I was out there for spring ball,” Weddle said on a Zero 2 Sixty podcast. “Don’t be surprised if the backup (is) playing early because that Underwood kid, I don’t think he could throw or play quarterback. So, we’ll see.”

Smigiel played high school football under his father, Joe, who was the head coach of Newbury Park. He had initially made his commitment to Florida State before flipping to Michigan in April, 2025. At the time of his injury, he was the No. 172 overall prospect, No. 21 from the state of California, and No. 11 quarterback in the nation, per Rivals Industry Ranking. Before his injury, he had thrown for 1,624 passing yards and 15 touchdowns, while completing 134 of 208 passes. And in his junior season, he performed even better, with 3,521 passing yards and 49 touchdowns, with only three interceptions recorded.

Whittingham insists on Underwood as QB1

For the likes of Tommy Carr and Brady Smigiel, who might be seeing the criticism around Underwood as a chance to snatch the starting quarterback spot, Whittingham has reaffirmed Underwood as the team’s starting quarterback.

“Well, Bryce is our guy,” Whittingham said on The Rich Eisen Show. “To be fair, he was a barely turned 18-year-old true freshman last year and thrust into the situation that he was, and even though there’s a lot of room for improvement, still won nine ballgames and put up some decent numbers. We believe in Bryce, and he’s got all the tools in the toolbox.

“He’s 6-4, 230, runs like crazy, has a big arm. And so we feel like he’s got a big upside and has made a ton of progress so far in the offseason. Fall camp will be important for him, obviously, as it is for everybody, but Bryce is our guy.”

Underwood has made bold statements about his 2026 season and highlighted clear goals. All that is left is for him to walk the talk and lay the perfect example for Tommy Carr and Brady Smigiel to model after in the coming years.

Whittingham faces a challenging 2026 schedule ranked among the most difficult in the Big Ten. Despite benefiting from eight home games at the Big House, the Wolverines inherit a true gridiron gauntlet.

They open the season on September 5 with a manageable tune-up at home against Western Michigan before immediately diving into a massive marquee matchup on September 12 by hosting national powerhouse Oklahoma. After a lighter non-conference game against UTEP on September 19, the difficulty ramps back up on September 26 for their Big Ten opener against a physically demanding Iowa team.

Michigan hits the road for the first time on October 3 to face Minnesota for the Little Brown Jug before taking a much-needed Bye Week on October 10 to prepare for the toughest stretch of the year.

They return to Ann Arbor on October 17 for a premier Homecoming game against Penn State, immediately followed by a high-stakes October 24 meeting with a dangerous Indiana squad. They wrap up October with a road trip to Rutgers on October 31, leading directly into the emotional battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy against rival Michigan State on November 7.

The ultimate test of their championship mettle arrives on November 14 with a brutal road game against Oregon in Eugene, followed by a home finale against conference newcomer in UCLA on November 21. Finally, the regular season concludes on November 28 with the ultimate rivalry game against Ohio State, at a hostile Ohio Stadium in Columbus.