No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood flips to Michigan from LSU

Five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 ESPN 300 recruiting rankings, has flipped his commitment from LSU to  Michigan, he confirmed on social media Thursday.

Underwood announced the news with a video posted to Instagram with the caption “Hometown Hero.”

Underwood, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder from Belleville, Michigan, is the top pocket passer in the class. With his flip, he becomes the highest-rated offensive commit in Michigan program history and the top prospect in Sherrone Moore’s inaugural recruiting class, which currently sits at No. 14 in ESPN’s team rankings for the 2025 cycle.

Underwood’s move comes as the latest piece of seismic quarterback movement atop the 2025 class ahead of the start of the early signing period Dec. 4. Five-star quarterback  Julian Lewis decommitted from USC on Nov. 17 and subsequently pledged to Colorado earlier Thursday.

Committed to LSU since Jan. 6, Underwood remained the crown jewel of Brian Kelly’s 2025 class over the past 10 months. Yet Michigan remained in contact with Underwood throughout his senior season at Belleville High School — situated less than 30 minutes from Michigan Stadium.

The Wolverines intensified their pursuit of Underwood over the past two months, with sources telling ESPN that the program stepped up with a competitive NIL package. The Oct. 30 decommitment of four-star quarterback commit Carter Smith (No. 155 in the ESPN 300) from the Wolverines heightened the buzz around a potential flip by Underwood.

Michigan secures a potentially program-defining quarterback and one of the most significant pledges in program history less than 12 months after Moore replaced Jim Harbaugh after the Wolverines claimed the 2023 national championship.

If Underwood signs with the Wolverines on Dec. 4, he will be the first No. 1 recruit to join Michigan since the program inked defensive tackle Rashan Gary in 2016.

Underwood also would join Gary and defensive backs Jabrill Peppers (2014 class) and Dax Hill (2019) as the only five-star prospects to land in Ann Arbor since 2006, per ESPN rankings.

He will mark the Wolverines’ highest-ranked quarterback pledge since Michigan landed Ryan Mallett (No. 12) in the class of 2007.

Whether Underwood is prepared to take over as the starter in 2025, his commitment brings critical stability to the quarterback position in Ann Arbor as Moore closes a turbulent first season.

Michigan has struggled to identify a replacement for national title-winning quarterback  J.J. McCarthy in 2024, bouncing between Davis Warren, Alex Orji and Jack Tuttle across a 5-5 start this fall. Warren and Orji hold eligibility beyond this season, as does former 2024 four-star quarterback prospect Jadyn Davis.

Michigan also holds a commitment from four-star quarterback Brady Hart in the 2026 cycle.

A composed passer with speed to test opposing defenses in the open field, Underwood has spent the past four years as one of the nation’s most coveted prospects, ranked ahead of top quarterbacks Lewis,  Tavien St. Clair ( Ohio State) and  Keelon Russell ( Alabama) in the 2025 ESPN 300.

Underwood burst onto the national scene in 2021, when he threw for 2,888 yards and 39 touchdowns in his freshman season at Belleville. He led the Tigers to back-to-back state titles in his first two seasons under center, then earned Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year honors as a junior in 2023, when he completed 64.8% of his passes for 3,329 yards and 44 touchdowns while guiding Belleville to a third consecutive state title game appearance.

With only one regular-season loss since September 2021, Underwood and Belleville entered the state playoffs this month as favorites to claim the program’s third state championship in four years.