Michigan football was able to land its quarterback of the future with a little bit of help from a quarterback from the Wolverines’ past — and not just any quarterback.
Bryce Underwood, the Belleville star and the No. 1 player in the 2025 recruiting class, was the dominant story in the college football world Friday when he flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan, giving coach Sherrone Moore perhaps the first major victory of his tenure as the Wolverines’ full-time head coach.
Underwood was the subject of intense interest from Michigan and its fans during what has been an underwhelming 2024 season for the Wolverines. That impassioned push reportedly got a crucial late assist from none other than Tom Brady.
The former Michigan quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion, widely regarded as the greatest quarterback in NFL history, struck up a relationship with Underwood over the past several weeks, beginning with a FaceTime call, according to a report from CBS Sports.
Over multiple conversations, Brady stressed to Underwood that he’d be a resource for the young quarterback, a potential mentorship arrangement that “became one of many factors” in Underwood’s decision to commit to the Wolverines, according to CBS.
The full-court recruiting press is certainly worth it.
Underwood is not only the No. 1 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class, but the No. 1 overall player, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound dual-threat quarterback is Michigan’s highest-rated quarterback commitment in the modern recruiting era, going back to 2002. He’s the second No. 1 overall consensus recruit to end up with the Wolverines, joining Rashan Gary in 2016.
Underwood not only gives Michigan hope at the game’s most important position as Moore’s program has cycled through three different quarterbacks during a disappointing 5-5 season, but his pledge reverses a recent trend of top-ranked in-state quarterbacks spurning the Wolverines. Dante Moore from Detroit King, the No. 5 player nationally in the 2022 class, committed to UCLA while CJ Carr from Saline, a top-100 player in the 2023 class, opted for Notre Dame.
It was more than just a bond with Brady that drew Underwood to Ann Arbor, as he’s reportedly set to earn a name, image and likeness deal worth $10 million over four years.