Bryce Underwood’s QB1 spot at Michigan was secured even before his freshman year began. Despite the criticism that followed his debut season, new head coach Kyle Whittingham was quick to declare him the starting quarterback in 2026 as well. As such, Michigan quarterbacks in need of more game time have had to go elsewhere. A former Michigan quarterback who won his battle against cancer made a similar move earlier this year that has now paid off, as he has been named the starting quarterback of an ACC program.

Stanford Cardinals head coach Tavita Pritchard recently announced former Michigan Wolverines quarterback Davis Warren as the team’s starting quarterback for the 2026 season. The decision was announced on August 18 after an offseason competition, as Warren readies himself to be the team’s signal caller in their season opener against Hawaii on August 29.

Warren is entering his sixth year in college football after spending the previous five in Michigan. As a former walk-on, he was largely used in the backup room until the 2024 season, when he beat out his competition to become the starting quarterback. He started 9 games but was rotated and eventually benched due to his high rate of turnovers and inconsistencies. After winning the national championship and getting a full scholarship, he recorded 1,199 passing yards, seven touchdown passes, and nine interceptions in 2024.

Before he could be given another chance in the following season, he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during the ReliaQuest Bowl on December 31, 2024. The injury limited him in the 2025 season until he left the program via the transfer portal. Waiting for him on the other end of the portal were the Cardinals, who needed his experience from the Wolverines and his leadership as a six-year veteran.

“Yeah, I think going into the portal, you never really know what to expect. But I think it’s been everything I could ask for and then some,” Warren said, per Ben Parker of Cardinal Sports Report.

“I think the first conversation we had, me and Coach Pritchard and Coach Luck, I could just — I could see myself in this situation, being a part of a group that loves football, that wants to push me to be good at football, push the guys to be the best team that we can be, then just develop me as a quarterback.”

The former Michigan QB now has a golden opportunity to turn things around for himself and the Cardinals.

Warren’s battle with cancer

Warren was doing a morning workout as a junior athlete in high school in March 2019 when he felt an unusual weakness. The occurrence led him to run a test, during which he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Aged 19 at the time, Warren stopped football and began treatment immediately, going through four rounds of inpatient chemotherapy over five months and losing 30 pounds in the process.

After his treatment, he was declared cancer-free in August of the same year. He then returned to high school football two months later. Despite his limited game time in Ann Arbor, he was hardworking, diligent, and inspirational. A frequent visitor at Mott Children’s Hospital, Warren used his cancer battle as a story to inspire kids who are battling the same disease.