The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530730
JANUARY 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 43 ❱ FOOTBALL RECRUITING TRACK RECORD ON FRIDAY NIGHTS Underwood is one of the more decorated high school football players from the state of Michigan in recent memory. Over four seasons at Belleville, he led the Tigers to a 50-4 record and two state championships. In addition to the winning and champion- ships, Underwood rewrote the individual state record books in the process. He broke the Michigan records for most total touch- downs and passing touchdowns in a high school career early in his senior season. Underwood finished his illustrious prep career with 11,488 passing yards and 152 passing touchdowns, averaging around 11 yards per passing attempt. He also added 27 more rushing touchdowns, bringing his total touchdown count to 179. No top quarterback in the 2025 cycle has produced better raw stats over the course of their high school career. HUGE LONG-TERM UPSIDE Unlike many top quarterback pros- pects who emerge as high school under- classmen, Underwood is not an overly polished product who happened to top out early. For starters, he is younger for the cycle, with an Aug. 19 birthday. Un- derwood will turn 18 years old just days before his first college game. Additionally, he measured in at 6-foot-4 and a lean 208 pounds with 10-inch hands at the On3 Elite Series last May, making him one of the more physically imposing quarterbacks in the 2025 cycle. Underwood has grown around an inch over the past year and is continuing to fill out his frame. The belief is that he will ultimately check in at over 6-foot-4 and 230-240 pounds while maintaining his athleticism. We've seen Underwood make strides on the field, as well. He showed improve- ment in his overall passing mechanics as a senior, throwing with better align- ment and posture, which contributed to an uptick in accuracy. He also showed increased top-end speed and improved rushing ability, as noted above. The physical gifts and signs of skill improvement point to a very high long- term upside as he continues to develop. IMPACT AT MICHIGAN Underwood is one of the top quar- terback talents to come through high school football in the past five to 10 years. The combination of physical tal- ent, on-field résumé and upside put him in the conversation with former top prospects like Trevor Lawrence and Caleb Williams — two No. 1 prospects out of high school who ended up being top NFL Draft picks. That's obviously an extremely high bar to meet. Underwood will need to continue developing at Michigan to do so, but there is no question the talent and upside are there. Underwood should make an instant impact in Ann Arbor. Given his talent and the state of the Wolverines' quar- terback room, I expect Underwood to be Michigan's starting quarterback in 2025, likely when they kick off the sea- son against New Mexico on Aug. 30. How Michigan builds around the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 cycle will go a long way in determining how the Wol- verines fare in the coming years. If recent recruiting wins like Un- derwood, five-star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola and four-star cor- nerback Shamari Earls are any indica- tion, Sherrone Moore and Michigan are serious about talent acquisition. This recent run and the addition of Under- wood give the Wolverines the talent behind center to return to the College Football Playoff. Charles Power is On3's director of scouting and rankings. ❏ What They're Saying … "We want to thank our Founding Members and others associated with Champions Circle who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make it possible to continue our work building championship teams at Michigan. "Founding Member and Chairman, Nate Forbes, said: 'We are very excited to keep Bryce home in Michigan as he continues to build his legacy. I want to personally thank Larry and his wife Jolin who were instrumental in making this happen by providing Champions Circle with invaluable guidance and financial resources.' "Jolin, a proud Michigan alum, shared: 'I am a big fan of the University of Michigan and Michigan athletics. We are excited to support our student-athletes, so they can go compete at the highest level in college sports.' "We encourage all parties who have publicly expressed interest in assisting Michigan's NIL efforts to join the 11,000 individuals who have contributed to Champions Circle. For any fan wishing to support our efforts to keep Michigan the Leaders and Best, please contribute through our "Those Who Stay (Home) ..." fundraising campaign." — Champions Circle, official partner of Michigan athletics "Welcome to Michigan, Bryce Underwood!!! And just like that we're back! #goblue" — Dave Portnoy, founder, Barstool Sports "Congrats to the best I've ever seen at his age. This young man is amazing both on the field and off! Michigan got a real one. If they do right this kid wins the Heisman in 3 years & is the #1 overall pick. Definitely a huge loss amongst many for LSU." — Ryan Clark, NFL analyst and former LSU Tiger "HUGE news for Sherrone Moore and Michigan as they lock down QB Bryce Underwood. From a tal- ent standpoint, they're getting one of the best in his class, but the real benefit is the ability to sell the direction of the program to attract other top recruits and portal players." — Jake Butt, Big Ten Network analyst and former U-M All-American "Huge for Sherrone Moore and Wolverines. Bryce Underwood highest-rated recruit ever for Michigan." — Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News "Bryce has a thirst — an obsession — for information. He loves the classroom just as much as he loves the field," referring to film sessions and critiques of his play. "You hear the term 'it' a whole lot across the country. That's kind of cliché, but what he has is he's clutch. "He's not afraid to fail, which is a unique trait for a quarterback with his pocket courage. … "I always use the term unicorn. He's 1 of 1. Now he gets to be around those in a room who take the position seriously — a staff, a college atmosphere. … When you're around that atmosphere and struc- ture, he's only going to continue to raise the bar." — Donovan Dooley, founder of Quarterback University