Newbury Park (CA) Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel committed to Michigan on April 26. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State, among others, and he was previously committed to Florida State.
247 Sports lists Smigiel at 6’6″ and 205 pounds. As a junior in 2024, he completed 219/336 passes for 3,521 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions while also rushing 89 times for 435 yards and 11 scores. Altogether, he has been responsible for 165 touchdowns, thrown 28 interceptions, and thrown for 11,222 yards as a three-year varsity starter.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 84 grade, #4 QB, #45 overall
On3: 4-star, 90 grade, #17 QB, #246 overall
Rivals: 5-star, 6.1 grade, #5 QB, #23 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 91 grade, #8 QB, #126 overall
Hit the jump for more.
There was a time early in Smigiel’s recruitment where I thought he might end up being Michigan’s quarterback in the class, but then he (surprisingly, at least to me) went off the board to Florida State. But after he committed to Florida State, the Seminoles made some coaching changes following a disastrous 2-10 season; the offensive coordinator was fired, head coach Mike Norvell hired Gus Malzahn, and Norvell also said he would be giving play-calling duties to Malzahn, who is more oriented to using a running QB than someone like Smigiel is probably capable of doing. Smigiel re-opened his recruitment, and with their 2026 quarterback commit re-classifying to 2025 and signing with Texas A&M (Brady Hart), the Wolverines were back in the market for a quarterback.
There’s a lot to like about Smigiel’s quarterbacking skills, from his production (see above) and experience (1,161 passing attempts as a varsity starter so far) to the throws he puts on film. He’s a tall quarterback with a nice over-the-top delivery that should prevent some of the batted balls we’ve seen from other Michigan quarterbacks in recent memory. He seems to know where he’s going with the ball in a quarterback-friendly system, and he delivers the ball on time. There aren’t a ton of off-schedule plays, and his command of the offense is apparent. I wouldn’t say he has a cannon for an arm, but he throws well enough to take advantage of most parts of the field.
On the negative side, I don’t necessarily love Smigiel’s mechanics, and I think he holds the ball with his back elbow a little too high; some throwing coaches might think that locks his arm and prevents him from truly optimizing his velocity. His arm strength is solid, but there are some throws the perimeter of the field that I’m not sure he’ll be able to make. He’s going to be mostly a pocket quarterback and lacks explosive running ability.
Overall, a lot of different quarterbacks popped into my head when watching him, from Peyton Manning (stature) to Trevor Lawrence (command of the offense) to Steve Threet (running ability). I know that’s a wide range of skills, and I’m certainly not saying he’ll be any of the above players. He just reminds me of those guys on the hoof. I don’t think Smigiel will be the #1 pick in the draft, and I think he’s better than Threet; if he’s willing to sit for a couple years behind Bryce Underwood, he could be a very good starter for Michigan. Here’s the expected depth chart by class for 2026:
- Jadyn Davis (RS So.)
- Bryce Underwood (So.)
- Chase Herbstreit (RS Fr.)
- Brady Smigiel (Fr.)
Smigiel is the fifth player to commit to Michigan in the 2026 class. At #80 overall in the 247 Composite, he’s between Shane Morris (#72 overall in 2013) and Matt Gutierrez (#96 overall in 2002) at the quarterback position. Michigan has never had a player from Newbury Park.
TTB Rating: 79
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