The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME U -M quarterback phenom Bryce Underwood is gear- ing up for his first spring camp with the program and spent the early part of March making the rounds before locking into his freshman season. Underwood, who signed with Michigan in December amid a rumored record-setting multi- million-dollar NIL deal with the program, has proven to have a gravitational pull when it comes to the hype and ac- colades bestowed upon the na- tion's No. 1 overall recruit. According to On3's Pete Na- kos, Underwood, the lone true freshman in the group, is po- tentially set to grace the cover of EA Sports College Football 26 and was in Los Angeles at the Rose Bowl the week of March 13 to take part in the photo shoot. Other players in attendance in- cluded Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Alabama wide receiver Ryan Wil- liams, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and South Carolina edge Dylan Stewart. While in Los Angeles, Underwood also swung by "The Rich Eisen Show" for an interview with the eponymous host and Michigan alum. Neither man shied away from a discussion surround- ing his potential bid for the starting job in Year 1. "I just know I have to be myself," Un- derwood said. "That's been my main thing. I'm going to work for everything I've earned. ... And my initials are B.U., so my parents always kept that in my head. It's, 'Be You, no matter what.'" Underwood knows the hype that comes with his arrival in Ann Arbor but calls it more of a blessing than anything else. "My mom called it 'Bless stress.' All the work that I've put in, it's just been a blessing to be through what I'm go- ing through at this moment," he said. "I have nothing else to do other than what I have been doing for the last eight, nine, 10 years that I've been playing football: work hard and dedicate myself to what- ever my goals will be." Underwood also had a good-natured run-in with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James while out west, and he let the Ohio State fan and Akron native know that he was coming for rivalry su- premacy. "'Just had to let you know,'" Underwood recalled saying to James, "'I go to Michigan.' And he was like, 'Oh, yeah.'" He later said he told James: "It's over for Ohio State." Underwood has not been shy about speaking his goals into existence, revealing to Eisen he hopes to win a couple of Heis- man Trophies and at least one College Football Playoff na- tional championship before his time is up. His new offensive coordina- tor Chip Lindsey is well-aware of the talent coming into the program. "Getting to know Bryce has b e e n u n b e l i eva b l e ," L i n d - sey said in a March edition of the "In The Trenches" podcast with Jon Jansen. "The guy is as humble and driven as I've seen. People from the outside may not see that or know that, because of the hype that goes with it. "Jadyn Davis was a [four-star] re- cruit. I think the people from outside don't see them every day in the film room, grinding on their own, in meet- ings, taking notes. They approach their craft really seriously, and they want to be good and be the best they can be. "And that's what you want. You want a room full of guys that are eager. Davis Warren is the same way. He's coming off an injury, but he's the same way. Those guys want to be perfect, and I think that's what's exciting." ❱ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS Bryce Underwood Making The Rounds Ahead Of First Spring Ball Underwood, who was in Los Angeles for an EA Sports College Football 26 photo shoot in March, also made a guest appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," hosted by the eponymous broadcaster and proud Michigan alumnus. PHOTO COURTESY THE RICH EISEN SHOW