By Sean Labar
The Michigan Wolverines were one of the biggest storylines just last season and capped off the 2023 campaign with a College Football Playoff championship.
Since then, the Wolverines lost Jim Harbaugh — the head coach responsible for revitalizing the program and leading them to a championship victory — to the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL.
Beyond losing Harbaugh, Michigan lost their starting QB from the 2022 and 2023 seasons, JJ McCarthy, who was good enough a year ago to be in the Heisman trophy conversation.
Former Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was named head coach shortly after Harbaugh stepped away, but with three games remaining in the college football regular season, he’s struggled to keep the momentum rolling from last season.
The Wolverines have gone from national champions to a program that is battling for bowl eligibility at 5-5 in the course of just months. They haven’t found an answer to replace McCarthy at QB. Alex Orji has proven to be nothing more than a glorified running back while Davis Warren has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in the action he’s seen as the Michigan signal caller this year.
It’s no surprise Michigan is looking to add major talent, particularly at the QB position. And according to a report from ON3 on Thursday, the Wolverines are taking unprecedented steps in their pursuit to land a future signal caller who can lead them back to national championship contention.
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Michigan Wolverines Offering LSU QB Commit Bryce Underwood $10.5 Million NIL Deal
On3 reported Thursday that the Wolverines are “prepared” to offer quarterback recruit Bryce Underwood a $10.5 million name, image and likeness deal over the course of four years with the hopes of flipping his commitment to LSU to Michigan.
Underwood — who is from Belleville, Michigan — is the No. 1 overall prospect of the 2025 class according to 247 Sports is committed to play for the LSU Tigers, but as we know in the modern day of college football, that could change in an instant.
It’s clear Michigan is pulling out all stops in order to try to land Underwood, with $10.5 million being one of, if not the highest price any program has offered a player since the NIL rules changed.
The news comes after Richard Johnson of CBS Sports reported earlier this month there was a belief Michigan would offer Underwood approximately double On3’s initial report of a $5 million NIL deal.
Johnson also noted “many recruiting insiders view a flip to Michigan as a forgone conclusion.”
If the Michigan Wolverines do land Bryce Underwood, it will be the first step to get them back on track to competing in the new Big Ten which is even more competitive than past years, with teams like Oregon, USC and Washington now in the conference.
