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Bryce Underwood commits to Michigan: Wolverines flip Belleville QB

Vaseline November 22, 2024

Michigan football has pulled off the biggest recruiting flip in its history.

Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines were able to secure a commitment from Belleville star quarterback Bryce Underwood on Thursday afternoon ahead of their matchup with Northwestern this weekend, with Underwood announcing the news on social media.

“Hometown. Hero,” the caption for Underwood’s post simply read.

Moore also apparently confirmed the news on social media, without commenting directly.

“YES SIR! The best players in Michigan are going to Michigan,” Moore said Thursday.

Underwood, the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect out of Belleville High School, originally committed to the Tigers in January, less than a week before the Wolverines claimed the national championship.

In recent months, as Michigan’s quarterback situation fell apart, the Wolverines went on a full-court press to keep Underwood in the state and after a rollercoaster ride, it appears to have worked.

As recently as last week, many believed Underwood was headed to LSU, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Free Press at the time.

Underwood, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound dual-threat passer, even took to social media last Thursday night to share a post indicating he received Michigan’s massive Name, Image and Likeness package worth approximately had turned down $10 million per year, saying “It is unlikely that the No. 1 overall prospect … will accept Michigan’s lucrative NIL offer,” but the post was eventually deleted.

The post came about a week after Underwood visited Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Nov. 9 to watch the Tigers play Alabama — a game the Crimson Tide easily won, 42-13.

Last week, Michigan had offered a four-year NIL deal worth nearly $10 million over four years, including win-based and championship-based incentives.

At this point, it’s not clear if the Wolverines and their collective have upped their offer, if Underwood has changed his mind or something else.

Michigan redoubled its efforts with Underwood this fall as the quarterback prospects on its own roster came into question.

The unit went from Davis Warren to Alex Orji to Jack Tuttle and back to Warren again – and all the while, UM continued to expand its search for the nation’s most coveted high school student. In the meantime, four-star quarterback Carter Smith, who had been committed to UM since November 2023, caught wind of UM’s increasing efforts to land the local product and backed away from his promise to come to Ann Arbor.

“I want to start by thanking the Michigan coaching staff for everything they have done for me,” Smith posted on social media. “I especially want to thank Coach Campbell for everything and for giving me this incredible opportunity. With that said, I would like to announce that I have withdrawn from the University of Michigan.”

Underwood immediately changes the outlook for Michigan going forward. He is the second No. 1 overall consensus player to join the Wolverines, joining Rashan Gary (2016) and is the program’s highest-rated quarterback in the modern recruiting era (2002).

It also breaks a trend of the best quarterback in the state not choosing the Wolverines. Dante Moore, the nation’s No. 1 prospect after Detroit King (2022), ultimately chose UCLA, while CJ Carr, a four-star from Saline High School but the state’s No. 1 prospect in 2023, chose Notre Dame. Michigan got a four-star quarterback in Jadyn Davis (Providence Day) in the 2023 cycle.

Underwood has all the size and tools of a top quarterback at any level. His productive high school career came to an end last weekend when Belleville was eliminated by Novi Detroit Catholic Central, 35-21, in the MHSAA football playoffs. Underwood completed 11 of 23 passes for 188 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

With Underwood’s efforts, the Wolverines’ class jumped to No. 9 in the country.