Michigan made a great impression on 2026 QB Brady Smigiel: 'It's just different'

Since being offered by Michigan on Jan. 28, Newbury Park (Calif.) quarterback Brady Smigiel expressed high interest in visiting the Wolverines. He made that happen with a three-day trip to Ann Arbor in early April.

Smigiel feels like Michigan has been showing him a lot of interest. He felt that while on campus, especially from head coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell.

“It’s just different at Michigan than a lot of the other schools I’ve went to,” Smigiel told On3. “You can just tell the respect they have for him and the coaching staff and the respect the coaching staff has for coach Harbaugh. Just me and my family talked with coach Harbaugh for about 20 minutes and he was like, ‘I treat my staff like they’re my brothers and I treat their kids like they’re my sons.’ It’s not any different for any recruit or any player, which I thought was really cool.”

In addition to speaking with Harbaugh, Smigiel sat in on a quarterback meeting, a team meeting with his brother — 2026 wide receiver Beau Smigiel — met one-on-one with Campbell and also went out to dinner with Michigan’s quarterbacks coach. He also toured Michigan’s facilities, campus and the Big House.

Spending time with Campbell was one of the highlights of Smigiel’s trip.

“I would say I have the best relationship in the country with coach Campbell right now,” he added. “Obviously, he can’t text me, but he texts my dad a bunch. He texts my dad concepts and schemes and videos from practices and games, which is really cool. We got to go in the film room… which was really awesome. He was with us all three days, pretty much the whole entire time, asking me questions, just showing me around… He was our tour guide, he was the main coach I talked to.”

Michigan’s culture impressed the 6-foot-4, 180-ponud signal-caller. He specifically liked how organized the Wolverines were and that every player paid attention during meetings, no matter the side of the ball being discussed.

Smigiel is excited to learn more about Michigan and other schools

Smigiel did not know a lot about Michigan going into his visit. After leaving Ann Arbor, he has high interest the program.

The California native is hoping to return to Michigan Stadium for a game. Right now, Smigiel “could definitely see myself” playing for the Wolverines.

“They offer such a good education,” Smigiel said. “The coaches that are coaching the players, the athletic trainers, the weightlifting trainers, I feel like everything there is prepared to take you to the next level, whether it’s graduating college or going to the NFL.”

Multiple schools along with Michigan are interested in Smigiel. He and his family plan to take multiple visits in the summer, yet those trips are not scheduled yet.

That is because Smigiel wants to see which coaches are treating him like a priority and what other quarterbacks they are recruiting.

“I want to go somewhere where I’m loved, where the people like me, where the fans like me and the school has a good atmosphere,” Smigiel said. “There’s a lot of people transferring and I just really want to make sure that doesn’t end up happening to me. I want to make sure I pick the right spot. That’s why I’m starting the recruiting process so early.”