Five-star QB Brady Smigiel wasn’t supposed to sign with the Wolverines. However, a program changed its coaching staff, and Michigan jumped in to convince him that Ann Arbor should be his college home. But just as he was about to sign for the program, an ACC injury ended his senior high school season early. Smigiel’s latest social media activity is precisely what the fans wanted to see as they wait for an update on his recovery.

In his latest Instagram post, Smigiel can be seen throwing the football, which confirms that the freshman is getting closer to fully being back in action. That also provided a boost to the depth in the QB room for Kyle Whittingham, as the coaching staff looks to solve issues that plagued the offense last year.

Smigiel suffered an ACL injury while playing for Newbury Park High School in California in October 2025. Due to the standard 8-to-9-month timeline required for ACL reconstruction recovery, Smigiel missed spring practice sessions.

However, even before that, the freshman QB enrolled early at Michigan in January 2026. The move was made to hand over his rehab to the Wolverines’ medical and strength and conditioning staff. Since then, he has been undertaking physical therapy while taking mental reps in the film room.

During his final high school season, he threw for 1,624 yards and 15 TDs over six games before his injury. Smigiel is widely projected to take a redshirt year for the 2026 season to preserve his eligibility. That makes sense, as Michigan’s roster includes a primary backup QB, like Tommy Carr, behind Underwood.

Interestingly, former head coach Sherrone Moore and former OC Chip Lindsey played key roles in convincing the quarterback to commit to Michigan. Even with them gone, he remained true to his commitment, a promising sign for the Whittingham project in Ann Arbor.

Smigiel’s family was heavily drawn to the 22nd head coach’s reputation. When Whittingham took the job, Smigiel’s father, Joe Smigiel, stated that he is a “hard, disciplined coach, which Brady loves.”

With Bryce Underwood entrenched as the starter, Smigiel can use his redshirt season to fully heal and prepare for the future in the Michigan offense.

The 2026 freshman QB didn’t choose Michigan initially

Michigan offered Smigiel early, when he was fresh off completing his freshman season at Newbury Park. But when the QB was on the verge of committing, Michigan suddenly accepted a pledge from QB Brady Hart. That forced Smigiel to shift directions and commit to FSU instead in 2024. However, his commitment to the Seminoles didn’t last long.

Following FSU’s brutal 2-10 season, which led to a coaching staff overhaul and an offensive scheme change under new OC Gus Malzahn, Smigiel backed out of his pledge. At that time, Hart decommitted from Michigan, and the program turned its full focus back to Smigiel for the 2026 class. During his recruitment, Sherrone Moore and Michigan staff used the ultimate pitch line, “We need another Brady in the building.”

Now, whether his commitment to the Wolverines despite all the chaos will be fruitful or not, only his performance can tell. There’s no doubt about his talent because he threw for 3,479 yards and 46 TDs as a high school freshman.