The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2023 BY EJ HOLLAND A little more than a year ago, Bryce Underwood was fresh off winning his first state c h a m p i o n s h i p a s a h i g h school freshman. At the time, Underwood was just 14 years old, and yet, he played beyond his years, passing for 284 yards and 5 touchdowns to go along with 62 yards rushing and another score en route to leading Belleville High to a 55-33 win over Rochester Adams in the Michigan Division I state title game. Just a month later, Underwood, who already had a Michigan offer in hand, was back at a local field house — about 35 miles west of Detroit — to get in his weekly work with private quarterbacks coach Donovan Dooley, founder of the esteemed Quarterback University. After a late-night session, Dooley was asked to compare Underwood to a past or present NFL quarterback. Without hesitation, Dooley replied "Vince Young." The reporter smirked, which is pretty understandable. Young, after all, was the former No. 1 overall recruit in the country, led Texas to a national cham- pionship and is widely considered one of the greatest college football players of all time. Fast forward a year later, and those descriptors are now being used for Un- derwood, who was just named On3's No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 re- cruiting class. Underwood has gotten bigger and better and even has another state championship under his belt. You won't hear many complaining about him being the cream of the crop in the next cycle. As the kids these days like to say, Un- derwood is "him." While he may not have the same playing style as Young, it has become increasingly clear that Underwood is the same caliber pros- pect and has the potential to be just as legendary. "I would call him a mixed pit," Dooley said after retracting his Young compari- son. "What I mean by that is he's a blended dog. He has the suddenness of Lamar Jackson, the savviness of Deshaun Wat- son in terms of pocket navigation and the ability to find power from any [throwing] platform like Aaron Rod- gers. That's who Bryce is. Bryce is a unicorn. He's a generational talent. "We talk about him being a combination of all those guys, but this guy is Bryce Under- wood. People are go- ing to have to compare themselves to him down the road. I think he's a first-round pick." Don't think for one second that Underwood is going to let the rank- ings, player comparisons and media attention dis- tract him from his ulti- mate goal. Unlike most high- profile recruits, Underwood doesn't care for the limelight and social media attention. He's just here to play ball. That's why he works in the shadows with Dooley every week and is always finding a way to keep active. Underwood has had the same dog mentality since he was a soft-spoken eighth grader. "We raised our pom-poms but put them down very fast," Dooley said. "He's very deserving of the No. 1 ranking be- cause of the body of work. "But what people don't see is his work ethic and infectious leadership. They don't see his grades and how he dominates the classroom. He's lost two coaches and is still corralling the team and keeping guys together and holding personal workouts. On3 made a sound decision, making him the No. 1 player in the country. I think he's the No. 1 player in the country regardless of class. "That may be a little lofty, but when you look at his ceiling and things he can do, he's a game changer and a program changer. Whoever gets Bryce Under- wood will essentially have a pro. When I asked him 'What's your end game?' he told me 'I want to be in the Hall of Fame.' "He didn't say win a national cham- pionship or win a Super Bowl. He said he wants to be in the Hall of Fame. His work ethic shows that." Complacency won't be an issue, either. ❱ FOOTBALL RECRUITING Underwood, a 6-3, 208-pounder, has led Belleville High to back- to-back Michigan Division I state titles. PHOTO BY CHAD SIMMONS/ON3 BEST IN CLASS Belleville (Mich.) Quarterback Bryce Underwood Is Ranked As The Top Rising Junior Football Player In The Nation