Michigan’s freshman superstar should terrify the Big Ten, and it’s not Bryce Underwood

Bryce Underwood was the headliner of Michigan’s 2025 recruiting class, and as a $12 million five-star quarterback, he should have been. However, he’s not the only true freshman on Sherrone Moore’s roster who is contributing in Year 1. 

Underwood found his way into the starting lineup from Week 1, and though it took four-star wide receiver Andrew Marsh a bit longer to work his way into the rotation as one of Underwood’s top targets, he’s been as impactful as anyone in Maize and Blue this season. 

In Michigan’s Week 12 win over Northwestern, Marsh had the best game of his young career, hauling in 12 passes for 189 yards. The outing made him the first Michigan freshman with multiple games of 100+ receiving yards since Roy Roundtree in 2009, and set the single-game program records for receptions and receiving yards by a freshman. 

Marsh made a stellar catch along the sideline that would have been good in the NFL, and according to Travis May of AtoZSportsNFL, he’s accounting for 27 percent of Michigan’s receiving offense. While the 6-foot freshman won’t have the gaudy receiving totals of a full-season starter, he is also one of the most efficient receivers in the country by yards per route run. 

Andrew Marsh is going to be a key to Michigan’s future with Bryce Underwood

The pressure is on everyone in Ann Arbor to deliver a national championship during Underwood’s three or four-year tenure as the program’s starting quarterback. That’s the reality of a program that makes such a significant financial investment in a top recruit. 

That pressure will force Sherrone Moore and everyone in Ann Arbor to evaluate the roster and coaching staff this offseason to maximize Underwood with the right offense and the best possible offensive weapons. Marsh has cemented his place as one of those weapons, and potentially as the focal point of the passing game along with Underwood. 

Michigan does still have a path to the College Football Playoff this season, and it involves knocking off Ohio State for the fifth consecutive year. After last season’s upset win, it’s impossible to doubt the Wolverines, but it’ll be an uphill battle against the Buckeyes, who have looked like the best team in the country this season. 

Last season, it was all about the defensive superstars for Michigan against Ohio State. If the Wolverines are going to pull it off this time around, it may fall on the shoulders of the program’s two young stars, Underwood and Marsh. 

Either way, their continued growth, through the rest of 2025 and into 2026, is bad news for the rest of the Big Ten.