Observations on the Spring Game 2026

After a rainy morning, the Michigan Spring Game on April 18, 2026 started after 2:00 p.m. with the temperatures lowering from 54 to 51 due to winds at 15 miles per hour. Once could observe that the team really enjoyed the scrimmage, and the players played hard during the afternoon; there certainly is a lot of team cohesiveness created by the new coaching staff.

At Quarterback, Bryce Underwood played the first quarter; he was a disappointing 3 fo 9 for 22 yards with 2 sacks, and ran 5 times for -3 yards. He is athletic with great potential; however, he tries to play too quickly, and doesn't have the best decision-making skills. Unfortunately, he doesn't look like a championship quarterback. Freshman Tommy Carr was the player of the game! Carr hit 21 of 30 passes for 143 yards, and ran 10 times for 67 yards with 2 sacks. Both Underwood and Carr played for both squads. Chase Herbstreit hit 1 of 3 passes for 20 yards, and ran 3 times for -7 yards after a sack. There is a big dropoff in talent from Carr to Herbstreit. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi attended the game, but didn't participate in Spring Drills so it is unknown whether he will play a factor in beating out Carr for the backup position. Freshman Brady Smigiel is still recovering from knee surgery. One thing I'm really pleased with is the new quarterbacks coach, Koy Detmer Jr.; he is very verbal and active in coaching the quarterbacks, and is a solid recruiter. He has already flipped Kamden Lopati from Illinois, and it looks like the coaches want to add a second quarterback in the 2026 Class; Thaddeus Thatcher is the top candidate along with Dane Weber. Our passing game needs to improve to compliment our running game. I'm sure the coaches recognize the problem, and will be working diligently towards solutions; that would include benching Underwood if needed.

At Running Back, Jordan Marshall, Savion Hiter, and Bryson Kuzdzal give us a solid 1-2-3 punch! Kuzdzal started for the Maize, and Marshall for the Blue squads. Hiter ran 8 times for 44 yards, and caught a pass for -1 yard. Marshall ran 5 times for 21 yards, and caught two passes for 6 yards. Kuzdzal ran twice for 4 yards. Tomas O'Meara ran 9 times for 29 yards and the only touchdown of the game for the Maize team. Freshman Jonathan Brown looked good with 6 carries for 22 yards. Walk-on Gary Stacy got to play, but didn't carry the ball. Donovan Johnson is still recovering from last year's surgery. It is too bad that Micah Ka'apana was injured in Spring Drills, and is out for the season; however, our running back situation is excellent for the 12 game season in the Fall.

Our receivers caught 25 passes for 185 yards. J.J. Buchanan, Jaime Ffrench, and Travis Johnson started at receiver for the Blue unit, and Andrew Marsh, Salesi Moa, and Kendrick Bell started for the Maize. Hogan Hansen and Deakon Tonielli started at Tight End for the Maize and Blue Teams. Our two best receivers, Andrew Marsh and J.J. Buchanan didn't catch a pass although they were targeted three times in the first quarter. Jaime Ffrench caught 4 passes for 26 yards. Tight End Eli Owens caught 4 passes for 28 yards. Salesi Moa caught 4 passes for 26 yards. Jamar Browder caught 2 passes for 26 yards. Kendrick Bell caught a 20 yard pass. Deakon Tonielli caught a 20 yard pass. Hogan Hansen caught 2 passes for 18 yards. Jaylen Pile caught 3 passes for 11 yards. Jacob Washington caught a 5 yard pass. Travis Johnson had a 4 yard run. Jalen Hoffman and Logan Forbes were targeted once each, but didn't make any catches. Bryce Wilcox and Kaleb Schlecht also played in the scrimmage. Zach Marshall, Crandall Quinn, Channing Goodwin, and C.J. Charleston didn't play. Mason Bonner will join the team in June. Overall, we should have an improved receiving corps, but they cannot be considered an elite group until the quarterback situation is remedied. There is no doubt that Jason Beck and Koy Detmer will be working on improving our passing game throughout the Spring and Summer as it is still not where it needs to be.

The Offensive Line for the Maize Team had Andrew Sprague at Right Tackle, Avery Gach at Right Guard, Houston Ka'aha'aina-Torres at Center, Nathan Efobi at Left Guard, and Blake Frazier at Left Tackle. Walk-on Peter Donini came in at both Left and Right Tackle, and Brooks Bahr and Daniel Taraboi also played tackle and guard for the Maize. The Blue Team had Evan Link at Left Tackle, Luke Hamilton at Left Guard, Jake Guarnera at Center, Blake Norton at Right Guard, and Marky Walbridge at Right Tackle. James Kavouklis also played Center, and Brooks Bahr also played at Right Tackle for the Blue squad. Andrew Babalola didn't play as he is still recovering from surgery. Manuel Beigel, Luke and Ace Hamilton didn't play. Overall, we have good potential with this group if healthy for the 12 game season. If this group plays well together, and sparks our running attack, we should have a good season. When Malakai Lee and Tommy Fraumann arrive in June, that should help our depth along with the return of Babalola.

On Defense, the Maize Team started Dominic Nichols and Benny Patterson at the Edges with Trey Pierce and David Palepale at the Tackles; Travis Moten also played at Nose Tackle. The Blue Team started Lugard Edokpayi and Christian Brandt at the Edges, and Enow Etta and Jonah Lea'ea at the Tackles; McHale Blade and Eli Musmand got some reps at Edge, and Bobby Kanka and Ted Hammond got in some action at the Tackles. Chibi Anwunah, Julius Holly, and Randy Keumonge didn't play. Travis Moten led the Maize defense with 6 tackles including 2 sacks. Nate Marshall and David Palepale had 3 tackles each; Marshall had a sack. Bobby Kanka had two tackles including a goal line stop. Benny Patterson had one tackle. Enow Etta, Trey Pierce, and Jonah Lea'ea had one tackle each. Lugard Edokpayi had a tipped pass. If we are to have a solid defense, we must gave a defensive line that will lead this team. The return and progress of John Henry Daley is critical to the line and the defense. The competition at End will be bolstered in June when Carter Meadows and Tariq Boney join the team; ditto with the tackles when Allister Vallejo and Titan Davis will bolster team depth. I am very confident in Lewis Powell; he is a great coach, and attracting a lot of stellar players to Ann Arbor. Larry Black is also a good recruiter!

At Linebacker, the Maize Team started Chase Taylor and Nathan Owusu-Boateng while the Blue Team started Troy Bowles and Aden Reeder. Other Linebackers who played included: Jack Weidenbach, Kaden Catchings, Markel Dabney, Adam Bazzi, Zach Ludwig, Christian Pierce, and Aisa Moa. Reeder and Weidenbach had 4 tackles each. Zach Ludwig and Markel Dabney had 3 tackles each. Chase Taylor, Kaden Catchings, Christian Pierce, and Adam Bazzi had two tackles each; Bazzi had a sack, and a tackle for loss. Transfers Nathaniel Stahling and Max Alford didn't play; apparently Stahling had an arm injury, and he was in a cast. Ndi Etta will join the team in June. It looks like Aden Reeder and Markel Dabney are the two Freshman who have impressed the coaches the most, and have a chance for playing time. Overall, this is a young group, and I'm sure our opponents are taking notice to deliver plays that will challenge our linebackers. We have decent starters, but they are untested in Big Ten play; we also have little depth, and the coaches must help these young players to develop as the season progresses. It is probably the weakest position group on this year's team.

In the defensive backfield, the Maize Team started I'marion Stewart and Shamari Earls at the corners with Zeke Berry at Nickel; Jordan Young and Chris Bracy started at the Safeties. The Blue Team started Jyaire Hill and Jo'Ziah Edmond at the corners, Nico Andrighetto at Nickel, and Mason Curtis and Kanoa Winston at the Safeties. Taylor Tatum and Jordan Deck saw action at Safety for the Blue Team (Deck also played for the Maize Team), and Jamarion "Jam" Vincent and Jeffrey Chukwu got action at the corners for the Blue squad. Max Reyes saw action at Safety for the Maize Team, and both Ernest Nunley and Sam Baron got reps at Nickel and corner. Kainoa Winston had an impressive day with 6 tackles plus a pass break up. Reyes had 5 tackles including one for loss. Shamari Earls had 3 tackles. Sam Baron had a pass break up. Nico Andrighetto, Chris Bracy, Zeke Berry, Jo'Ziah Edmond, Ernest Nunley, and Taylor Tatum had 2 tackles each; Bracy and Tatum had pass break ups, and Andrighetto had a quarterback hit. Jeffrey Chukwu, Jordan Deck, and Jamarion Vincent had one tackle each; Chukwu had a pass break up. Smith Snowden, Jeremiah Lowe, Josh Nichols, and Jacob Oden didn't play. Overall, this group should be very good; the starters at corner will be Jyaire Hill and Smith Snowden with Zeke Berry at Nickel, and Mason Curtis and Chris Bracy at the Safeties. The depth is also good with Shamari Earls, Jo'Ziah Edmond, and Jamarion Vincent at the corners; Jordan Young, Rod Moore, Jacob Oden, Taylor Tatum, Nico Andrighetto, Max Reyes, and Kainoa Winston at the Safeties. Ernest Nunley and Jordan Deck will most likely redshirt.

Our special teams are a real unknown. Our new transfer kicker, Trey Butkowski missed his first field goal of 29 yards, but made the game-winning extra point. Backup Stuart Blake hit both his field goal attempts of 23 and 40 yards in the 2nd and 3rd quarter; he also had two kickoffs for touchbacks for the Blue Team. Punters Hudson Hollenback and Hunter Robertson were the holders. Gavin Magorian started at Snapper for the Blue Team, and Nico Crawford started for the Maize Team. Trent Middleton didn't play. Placekicker Jacob Daggett and Snapper Jack Truelelarr will join the team in June. The flyers for punt returns and kickoff return team are still to be determined.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the new coaching staff; they have done a great job in helping the team re-group and focus after the whole Moore debacle. They are doing a good job recruiting, developing and coaching the playerd. We may not be able to be in a position to contend for the Big Ten Title this season, but we should be able to contend by 2027. We will find out if we are a contender or not early in the season on September 12 with a home contest with Oklahoma, and the Big Ten opener with Iowa also in Ann Arbor. After we travel to Minnesota for the Brown Jug Rivalry in a game they haven't won at Minneapolis since 1977, we take on Penn State and Indiana in Ann Arbor in consecutive Saturdays on October 17 and 24. We close the season at Oregon and Ohio State in November.

Player Participation Box Score Highlights Whole Scrimmage Post Game Press Conference