Michigan starts Bryce Underwood at QB for season opener vs New Mexico

Ann Arbor, Mich. Bryce Underwood, the five-star true freshman who arrived amid fanfare as Michigan’s top recruit in 2025, has been named the starting quarterback for the season opener against New Mexico. The decision formalizes a path that had been shaping in fall camp, with Underwood beating out transfers Mikey Keene and Jake Garcia and a redshirt prospect, Jadyn Davis, for the job. The move comes as Michigan aims to balance high expectations with the realities of a program contending under a self-imposed sanction over a sign-stealing investigation that has shadowed the program for two years.

Underwood stands 6-foot-4 and roughly 230 pounds, a size and resume that set him apart from his peers from the moment he flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan last year. He has both the arm talent and the football IQ that evaluators lauded throughout his high school career, including a national-player-of-the-year campaign that underscored his potential to lead an offense in Chip Lindsey’s system. The decision to start him now reflects a broader confidence in his readiness to command a college offense and be a steadying force for a program seeking consistency at the most visible position.