Predicting Michigan football's offensive depth chart: Is Bryce Underwood a lock for QB1?

New York Times

3 days ago

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Covering preseason camp at Michigan is an exercise in reading between the lines.
There are no open practices or public scrimmages, and coaches avoid definitive statements in the same way quarterbacks are coached to avoid turnovers in a two-minute drill. Still, anyone who's paying attention should have a decent sense of where things stand by this point in camp.
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Coach Sherrone Moore described this week as the most intense stretch of camp, culminating in a full-squad scrimmage on Saturday. Depth chart decisions — including the announcement of a starting quarterback, which Moore said will happen on the Monday before Michigan's first game against New Mexico — will come after that. While Michigan has held off on naming him the starter, freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood remains the prohibitive favorite to win the job. The quarterback battle, such as it is, reflects a broader theme: Moore has a good sense of who Michigan's best players are, and the next week is all about confirming it.
'This is where camp really gets hard, practice 12, 13, 14, 15,' Moore said Monday. 'You can easily take a step back. Are you going to, when it's 95 degrees outside, blame (the heat) or not have as good a day as you've had before, or are you going to keep that level of play?'
With a few exceptions, projecting Michigan's starters was pretty easy. Projecting the backups was a lot harder. Here's an educated guess at how Michigan's offensive two-deep will shake out.
Starter: Bryce Underwood
Backup: Jadyn Davis
Michigan posted a short highlight video from its first scrimmage on Saturday that included a shot of Mikey Keene in a helmet and pads, throwing a football. Progress! But remember, Keene isn't an incumbent starter who just needs to show he's healthy enough to play. To win the job, the Fresno State transfer needs to outduel Underwood, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025, in preseason camp. We've seen no evidence that he's been able to do that.
Today, not tomorrow.
Win each day. pic.twitter.com/yZDa6K3aKc
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) August 10, 2025
Michigan's coaches have said Keene is 'coming along great' and 'doing everything,' but players have indicated that Underwood, Davis and East Carolina transfer Jake Garcia have gotten most of the reps. This is starting to feel like the Jack Tuttle situation all over again: A veteran quarterback coming off an injury who can't quite get healthy in camp, costing him a chance to compete for the job.
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Tuttle wasn't cleared until Week 6 and ended up starting one game last season before announcing his medical retirement. Perhaps Keene will be a midseason option, or maybe he's close enough that we'll see him on the field in Week 1. He's in line to be Michigan's No. 2 quarterback when he's ready, but it's hard to say with certainty when that will be.
'He's participating at his rate that he can,' Moore said. 'We'll see how much he can do and what he'll do as we go through (camp). He's been doing a good job for us and managing everything he needs to do.'
There would be a bigger rush to get Keene back in action if Michigan had concerns about Underwood's readiness. Coaches and players continue to signal extreme confidence that Underwood is ready to lead the team.
'The quarterback has to be the captain of that room and that offense,' Moore said. 'Whoever that is, that's what I want him to be.'
Starters: Justice Haynes, Jordan Marshall
Backups: Micah Ka'apana, Bryson Kuzdzal
Is it cheating to cram four running backs onto a two-deep? Not at Michigan. The Wolverines love their running backs, and they have two who are worthy of being designated as co-starters. Perhaps one or the other will earn a heavier workload as the season goes on, but Haynes and Marshall are coming out of camp on relatively equal footing.
Unlike running back tandems of the past, the Haynes-Marshall duo isn't going to provide a big stylistic contrast. If you force them to pinpoint a difference, they'll say Haynes is more likely to put a move on a linebacker in the hole, whereas Marshall is more likely to lower his shoulder and plow forward. They're both low center-of-gravity runners who blend power and speed, which makes them ideal backs to thrive in Chip Lindsey's offense.
'We're not the same person, so everything's not going to be the same,' said Haynes, who transferred to Michigan after two seasons at Alabama. 'We can both be very explosive. We can both do it all, whether you need us to pass block, whether you need us to run routes, whether you need a fourth-and-1 yard or you need an 80-yard touchdown.'
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Identifying a No. 3 running back is one of Michigan's tasks in training camp. UMass transfer CJ Hester, who committed following Michigan's spring game, was a contender for that role but left the team early in August. With Ben Hall, Tavierre Dunlap and Cole Cabana gone from last year's roster — not to mention Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings, both in the NFL — the Wolverines don't have many proven options behind Marshall and Haynes.
Kuzdzal came to Michigan as a preferred walk-on and had a breakout performance with 105 rushing yards in the spring game. With freshmen Jasper Parker and Donovan Johnson still settling in, Kuzdzal is competing with Ka'apana and Princeton transfer John Volker for the third running back spot.
'If you want to be the best running back in the country, it comes out of the best running back room,' Haynes said. 'We say it all the time: We want to be the best unit in the country. Not just the best running back unit, but the best overall unit.'
Starters: Evan Link (left tackle), Andrew Sprague (right tackle)
Backups: Andrew Babalola, Blake Frazier
The longer the battle continues at left tackle, the more likely it is that Babalola finds his way into the starting lineup at some point this season. The five-star freshman is locked in a competition with Link, who was Michigan's starting right tackle most of last year before moving to left tackle in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Link's experience is enough to make him the projected starter, but for how long? He has three years of eligibility remaining, and Babalola is going to be ready sooner rather than later. If another starter struggles or gets hurt, Link could move inside or back to right tackle, clearing the way for Babalola.
Link had his struggles as a first-year starter and responded just as Michigan's coaches hoped he would. It's a testament to Babalola's talent and maturity that the left tackle competition remains as close as it is.
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'He's going to push for the starting left tackle spot,' Moore said. 'That's a day-to-day competition with Evan. Evan's played tremendously better and his confidence is where it needs to be. Those two are pushing.'
Starters: Giovanni El-Hadi (left guard), Greg Crippen (center), Nathan Efobi (right guard)
Backups: Brady Norton, Jake Guarnera, Lawrence Hattar
El-Hadi had trouble keeping his weight up last year and wasn't as dominant as he wanted to be at the point of attack. After what he described as a 'bad camp' last year, he's been meticulous about his nutrition and hydration to keep his weight between 325 and 330 pounds, up about 25 pounds from last year.
'Last year I was a little light,' said El-Hadi, one of three returning starters on the offensive line. 'I still felt very powerful, but I was kind of light in the butt. I was getting moved back more than I wanted to. Now, when I get my hands on you, it's a lot more weight trying to push through.'
We've heard very little about the center spot, good or bad. That suggests its mostly status quo with Crippen as the returning starter. Adding Hattar, a transfer from Ferris State, means more competition for Efobi, who emerged as a potential starter in the spring. Hattar and Norton, the two transfers, are providing depth right now, though either could step into the starting lineup if needed.
'We've got a couple spots that we think are cemented, but we're going to let those other guys fight it out,' Moore said. 'We're going to need them all.'
Starters: Marlin Klein, Max Bredeson (fullback/H-back)
Backups: Hogan Hansen, Jalen Hoffman
Klein, the No. 35 player on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List, has elite testing numbers that compare favorably with those of Colston Loveland, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Michigan won't have a drop-off in athleticism, but Loveland's productivity as a pass-catcher will be tough to replace.
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Klein said he 'went to the jungle' with tight ends coach Steve Casula, whom he credits for pushing him to new heights this offseason. If that's enough to unlock his full potential, Klein could be in the conversation with Ohio State's Max Klare and Oregon's Kenyon Sadiq as one of the best tight ends in the Big Ten.
Bredeson knows his role and plays it with gusto, even if it doesn't translate to carries or receptions. He and Klein should command the majority of the snaps, but assuming Lindsey's offense is similar to Michigan offenses of the recent past, the Wolverines will find ways to get multiple tight ends involved. Hansen earned snaps as a freshman at one of Michigan's deepest positions, and Hoffman was the breakout star of Michigan's spring game with 148 receiving yards. Either one could emerge as an option in the passing game.
Starters: Donaven McCulley, Semaj Morgan, Fredrick Moore
Backups: Channing Goodwin, Andrew Marsh, Jamar Browder
McCulley is Michigan's No. 1 receiver, matching the number on his jersey. Morgan and Moore had things to prove after last season, and it appears they've done enough to separate themselves as returning starters.
'When you look at the receiver corps, besides maybe one or two guys, it's really the same corps,' defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan said. 'But I think the quarterback play has been better. These guys are getting open. The ball's in the right spots. I think they've done a good job.'
Aside from McCulley, a veteran wideout who transferred from Indiana, the new faces are mostly young faces. A big unknown is whether Marsh and Browder, both freshmen, can surpass the returning players on the depth chart.
Morgan referred to Goodwin as 'Mr. Reliable,' and he should be heavily involved as a second-year player. Beyond that, Michigan will have to weigh the upside of Marsh and Browder against the experience of players like Kendrick Bell and Peyton O'Leary.
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'Jamar Browder, Andrew Marsh, those guys are going to play for us this year,' Moore said. 'They're both dynamic athletes and ahead of where they need to be and where guys usually are as freshmen. From a talent standpoint, they're really, really good.'
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