Kyle Whittingham was immediately tasked with retaining the leftover roster from the previous regime, making the beginning to his tenure as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines a challenging one to navigate. When the dust cleared, most of the important players on the roster were retained, while a small handful of guys like linebacker Cole Sullivan (Oklahoma) and defensive back Elijah Dotson (Missouri) transferred out.
It wasn’t easy, but keeping a significant portion of the roster intact — especially
all the playmakers on offense and several key pieces in the secondary — was a fantastic way for Whittingham to begin his time in Ann Arbor. And one of the first ones to verbalize his commitment to the program for 2026 was quarterback Bryce Underwood.
In a story written by ESPN’s Max Olson regarding the most important player returning to each of the network’s preseason top-25 teams, Michigan’s selection was an easy choice.
Here is what Olson had to say:
New Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham prioritized retaining Underwood as soon as he got the job and met with him before his introductory news conference to seek his feedback on the program and sell him on the new offensive vision. The former No. 1 overall recruit stuck with the Wolverines and stayed out of the portal after a promising debut season in which he produced 2,820 total yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 turnovers over a nine-win season. Whittingham and his coaches had several more critical retention wins in January with running back Jordan Marshall returning and OL Andrew Sprague, OL Jake Guarnera, DL Enow Etta and DB Zeke Berry all withdrawing their names from the transfer portal.
Underwood was the clear answer here, but let’s pretend he didn’t count in this exercise. Who WOULD be the best pick at that point?
Olson also brought up running back Jordan Marshall, and a few guys who initially entered the portal in offensive linemen Andrew Sprague and Jake Guarnera, defensive back Zeke Berry and defensive lineman Enow Etta. I think that all five of those guys are excellent options, as they were key pieces in 2025 and will continue to be important contributors in 2026.
Out of those players, I actually think the most important to get back was Guarnera. He played a crucial role on the offensive line last season, playing in all 13 games (10 starts) at right guard. He also played significant snaps at center in the Citrus Bowl, which is where he is expected to play moving forward.
As a redshirt freshman playing his first meaningful snaps of his career, Guarnera had the third-most snaps (710) along the offensive line and had the second-best offensive grade on Pro Football Focus (71.4). As soon as initial starting right guard Brady Norton went down with an injury early in the year, Guarnera took over and never relinquished his starting role; he was that good.
Furthermore, the center position is among the most important along the offensive line, and assuming that’s where Guarnera plays next year, it couldn’t have been more crucial for Whittingham and new offensive line coach Jim Harding to get him out of the portal and back in Ann Arbor. Without Guarnera, there’s no telling who would be the starting center in 2026 — perhaps one of the guys via the portal or one of the players already on the roster. No matter who that would have been, they very likely would not provide the ceiling and level of experience that Guernera already possesses.
What do you think? Is Underwood — or Guarnera — Michigan’s most important returning player? If not, then who? Let me know what you think down in the comments below!
