ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Infamously, there is just one tunnel resulting in the locker rooms at Michigan Stadium. By the point Oregon and Michigan’s gamers walked into it after their sport on Saturday, it was painfully clear which workforce was head and shoulders above.
After the groups exit the sector, a gaggle of highschool gamers in maize bubble coats observe, with Michigan inviting recruits available again to the locker room to proceed their go to. One participant was apparently not amongst them: five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 recruit within the class of 2025.
Rumors swirled round campus all final weekend that the signal-caller, who lives about half-hour away in Belleville, can be a shock attendee on the sport (his teammate, Elijah Dotson, was on-hand). The night time earlier than, LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was in attendance at Belleville’s first spherical playoff win, during which Underwood threw six touchdowns in a 68-0 blowout win because the Tigers chase their third state championship with Underwood behind heart. Underwood is an LSU commit for now, however many recruiting insiders view a flip to Michigan as a forgone conclusion, even when he didn’t make it to Ann Arbor this weekend. A major compensation bundle is being ready for him.
The web site On3 initially reported a determine for Underwood might close to $5 million, however a number of conversations CBS Sports activities and 247Sports have had with sources throughout the business paint the actual quantity to be one thing nearer to double that (over the course of a number of seasons). There needs to be no shock on the excessive value of doing enterprise within the NIL period with a highly-touted prospect.
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Underwood can be just one a part of Michigan’s offensive transformation, however he’d be inarguably an important one. The 6-3, 205-pound QB has been in comparison with Texas’ Vince Younger by 247Sports director of recruiting Andrew Ivins, and would nearly definitely be in line to compete for the beginning job from the day he stepped on campus in Ann Arbor. Flip look ahead to Underwood intensified after four-star QB commit Carter Smith decommitted on the finish of October.
To say that Michigan mismanaged its quarterback scenario is a little bit of revisionist historical past. Coach Jim Harbaugh left the Wolverines 4 days after the nationwide championship on Jan. 20. By then, the quarterback musical chairs had already stopped. Every of the highest 25 portal QBs in 247Sports’ rankings had already enrolled at their new colleges. Michigan additionally thought it had a succesful starter and a dependable offensive identification with Alex Orji heading into fall camp, whether or not they had been speaking it out of true perception or easy necessity is within the eye of the beholder. Both method, what they’ve placed on the sector has been an unproductive mishmash of offenses with poor outcomes all through that transcend simply the quarterback’s affect on the offense. The query for Michigan is that if they might afford to additionally go into the portal for a quarterback in the event that they do signal Underwood to be able to fill out their QB room and what may occur to both Davis Warren or Alex Orji, to not point out true four-star freshman Jadyn Davis, who’s at the moment taking a redshirt season.
How they acquired right here is now a moot level, how they transfer on is what’s most essential, and as coach Sherrone Moore appears to place his stamp on this system, how he fixes what’s damaged on offense will inform the story about whether or not this yr (5-4) could be thought of a mulligan or if it is the brand new norm.
With or with out Underwood, Michigan cannot afford many extra walks up the tunnel that felt like Saturday’s.
“If Moore cannot pull off one of many largest flips in recent times, the strain is barely going to proceed to mount,” Ivins mentioned.
