LSU football fans aren’t having fun.
The Tigers have lost three straight games but it got worse on Thursday night when QB Bryce Underwood, the nation’s top overall recruit, flipped to Michigan.
Underwood committed to LSU in January. With Underwood, LSU set its sights on the nation’s top overall class. Underwood projects to be the type of QB you can build a national championship team around. LSU had all the momentum in the world on the recruiting trail.
But as the fall progressed, Michigan began to make a push. Underwood is a Michigan native and the Wolverines had no plans of going down easy. There were reports of a massive NIL offer from Michigan, but other reports indicated LSU was confident Underwood ended up in Baton Rouge.
LSU’s worst fears were realized on Thursday.
It’s easy to be a prisoner of the moment at times like this, but we’re going to try and retain rationality. I’m not here to tell you the sky is falling, but if you’re waiting for the look on the bright side section of this article, you won’t find it.
All of LSU’s chips were in the Underwood basket. He’s a game-changing prospect. LSU hasn’t signed a quarterback of his caliber out of high school before and it won’t happen this year either.
Signing day is in two weeks. LSU didn’t have a backup plan.
As LSU endures a three-game losing streak on the field, fans turned their attention to the recruiting class. They were able to look past the losses, anticipating the arrival of Underwood.
LSU has recruited well under Brian Kelly, but the 2025 class looked to be the first step in getting back to the top of the sport. Underwood was a big part of those plans.
Two LSU quarterbacks have won the Heisman since 2019 while leading the best offense in college football. Underwood was supposed to be next in line, following in the footsteps of Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels.
LSU fans have been questioning head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan in recent weeks. Underwood’s commitment helped to ease some of that tension. Concerns will only grow from here.
If Kelly wasn’t feeling pressure to win LSU’s final two games, he is now. It’s also fair to wonder if LSU will be looking for a new offensive coordinator again this winter.
The last month has been the worst of the Kelly era at LSU. The Tigers are unranked in the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time in Kelly’s tenure, haven’t won a game since Oct. 19, and now lost their top commit.
There’s a lot of questions to ask right now. The fallout from this will be significant. The expectation at LSU is to compete for a national title and it doesn’t feel like the arrow is pointing in that direction.
Kelly isn’t on the hot seat right now and isn’t in immediate danger of getting fired, but he’s on hot seat watch heading into next year. LSU already needed a strong offseason to right the ship. Now with Underwood out of the picture, how Kelly handles the next five months will determine the length of his tenure in Baton Rouge.