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    • Michigan football is finally embracing the NIL era with Bryce Underwood on board
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    Michigan football is finally embracing the NIL era with Bryce Underwood on board

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    Free Press sportswriter Rainer Sabin answers three questions after Belleville quarterback Bryce Underwood reversed his commitment from LSU to Michigan football on Thursday.

    How does this change the trajectory of Michigan football?

    Shortly after the Wolverines won the national championship last January, the program began to fall from its perch atop the sport. Eighteen starters from the title-winning team left. Head coach Jim Harbaugh then fled to the NFL, and his entire defensive staff soon followed him out the door. In the wake of this mass exodus, one of Harbaugh’s top aides, Sherrone Moore, took over in late January. The offense he coordinated under Harbaugh was now gutted.

    The defense, which still had a core of excellent players, would soon lose one of its most valuable players when safety Rod Moore suffered a serious knee injury in the spring. As Moore tried to plug the holes, the specter of two NCAA investigations hovered over Schembechler Hall. Then the season started. It didn’t go nearly as well as fans expected. A blowout loss to Texas in Week 2 rocked the Wolverines. A crash followed in October.

    Four losses in five games left Michigan out of contention for the College Football Playoff, leaving fans wondering whether Moore, a 38-year-old rookie head coach, was the right choice to succeed Harbaugh.

    LOOK AT HIM: Bryce Underwood highlight videos show why Michigan commit is the nation’s No. 1 QB

    After all, Moore bungled the succession plan for JJ McCarthy, Michigan’s top quarterback, who was selected No. 10 overall in the NFL draft in April. During a destabilizing period, Michigan cycled through three starters, ranging from Davis Warren to Alex Orji to Jack Tuttle — a 25-year-old who would eventually retire from football. The end of Tuttle’s brief run as QB1 led to Moore going back to Warren.

    But by then, Michigan’s offense was a lost cause. It came in at 118 on Fridaye in scoring, averaging just 20.4 points per game. The passing attack, meanwhile, is the least productive in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Wolverines did not have enough firepower and their future looked bleaker as their most dynamic player, junior tight end Colston Loveland, was expected to leave for the NFL after the season.

    There seemed to be little hope for the Wolverines going forward.

    But Underwood is changing that.

    As the nation’s top recruit, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Belleville sensation energizes the Wolverines and their fan base. With Underwood considered a generational prospect, his addition to the class of 2025 represents the biggest coup of Moore’s young tenure. The program’s prospects are much more promising now than they were 24 hours ago, when UM seemed to be going nowhere under Moore’s command.

    Can Underwood restore the Wolverines’ offense?

    Earlier this week, a reporter informed Michigan receivers coach Ron Bellamy that the Wolverines were the only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision that had yet to produce a completion of 40 or more yards.

    “I’m shocked by it,” he responded. “Hopefully we can connect on those plays. For some reason we’ve had opportunities. We collectively did not make that possible.”

    But with Underwood on board, that possibility now exists.

    A quick look at his highlight reel shows that he can drive the ball downfield. Thanks to his powerful arm alone, he has the potential to expand the dimensions of an offense that can’t run deep. This season, Michigan’s three quarterbacks have made just seven throws that have traveled 20 or more air yards. The number is well below the total everyone imagined when coordinator Kirk Campbell predicted the Wolverines’ offense would be “extremely explosive” in the spring.

    While Underwood gives Michigan a better chance to realize Campbell’s vision, he won’t be able to do it alone. A reconstructed offensive line, which has been a weakness this season, should provide better protection and a cleaner pocket. The receiving corps also needs to be upgraded. Michigan’s most productive wideout, Tyler Morris, has made just 15 catches for 170 yards and two touchdowns.

    Underwood’s commitment should open the door for Michigan to recruit better players from outside, both from high school and from the transfer portal. An improved talent base at these key positions would allow the Wolverines’ offense to take off again, and quite quickly. That’s why Underwood’s decision to pick his fate at Michigan is such a gamechanger.

    MORE FROM BELLEVILLE: Michigan football is flipping four-star Belleville DB Eljiah Dotson, the No. 2 player in the state

    Does this signal that Michigan Football will compete in the modern era of NIL and revenue sharing?

    Until this recruiting cycle, Michigan didn’t seem interested in throwing big money at unproven players and waging bidding wars for the nation’s top recruits.

    The program’s strategy focused more on retaining players and rewarding top contributors. Speaking to reporters two years ago, Harbaugh said the administration was selling the Michigan experience as “transformational” rather than “transactional.” That comment alarmed a fan base who feared that Michigan, a powerful brand with vast resources, lacked the appetite to compete on name, image and likeness.

    Well, things have changed.

    A new revenue sharing model will be implemented that will pave the way for colleges to share approximately $20 million per year with athletes beginning in July 2025. Michigan’s benefactors have responded to the seismic shift in player compensation by turning on the money taps.

    “NIL is part of recruiting,” Moore said Monday. “It’s been a huge stretch. We continue to strive to get the best players to suit us and the best players we can. We have the support we need to do that.”

    The dollar amount that would have lured Underwood to Michigan was in the millions.

    After Underwood’s commitment was announced Thursday, Champions Circle, the premier NIL collective working with Michigan Athletics, released a statement celebrating the news.

    “We are very excited to keep Bryce home in Michigan as he continues to build his legacy,” it read.

    Barstool founder and Michigan alumnus Dave Portnoy then chimed in on X (formerly Twitter).

    “I have never been more confident that (Michigan) is ready to dominate in this new world,” he wrote.

    At the very least, Underwood’s decision signals that the Wolverines will not be left behind in this revolutionary era of college sports.

    Contact Rainer Sabin at [email protected]. Follow him @RainerSabin.

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