TAMPA, Fla. — When rumors started circulating that Michigan football was trying to flip 2025 Belleville (Michigan) five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood from LSU, much of college football social media laughed.
Those folks thought there was no way the Wolverines would be able to close out what amounted to a coup. Yet, Sherrone Moore and Sean Magee got the job done, and Underwood is wearing a Michigan uniform and practicing with the team as an early enrollee.
What was Moore’s mindset when it came to making such a big splash in the recruiting pond?
“I think for me, the biggest thing is I just wanted to get the best players possible,” Moore said. “And when you got a kid that’s right down the road, I’m gonna make a big, huge emphasis to keep the best players in Michigan in Michigan. And when you got the best player in the country right down the road, it was vital for us to go get that guy.
“So I wanna do that every year, keep those players in Michigan and not let them go to these different schools, and that was a huge emphasis for me.”
Underwood has had a few weeks of practice at the college football level. How has he handled it? And what is Moore seeing from the former five-star?
It turns out, despite the name, image and likeness licensing price tag associated with him, Underwood is a perfect fit for the Michigan football culture. He’s already mixing in with the existing team like a glove.
“First of all, he’s an unbelievable kid,” Moore said. “The players absolutely adore him. They love him, and all he wants to do is get better and be a great teammate. But he is extremely talented.
“He has great arm strength. He can make all the throws. He can run. He’s gonna be an unbelievable player. When that is, I don’t know, and we’ll figure that out.”