Michigan flips No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood from LSU

Michigan is in the midst of a 5-5 title defense season, looking to secure a bowl berth with a win over Northwestern on Saturday before a trip to No. 2 Ohio State, where the Wolverine faithful hope the maize and blue's likely loss remains respectable.

And even if it's not, the loss won't sting as bad as one would have expected a few weeks ago. That's because of Thursday evening's news, as quarterback Bryce Underwood officially flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan.

Underwood plays for Belleville High School in Belleville, Mich., where his offensive coordinator is none other than Connor Stalions. 

Winning the Underwood recruitment is, clearly, the biggest victory yet for first-year head coach Sherrone Moore, whose tenure will begin in earnest in 2025. 

Of course, landing a franchise quarterback is one challenge, making the most of his short time on campus is a bigger one. Just ask Nebraska, who changed offensive coordinators mid-season in Dylan Raiola's first year on campus.

Speaking of Raiola, the Underwood news is another data point in how the NIL era has changed quarterback recruiting. The two are mirror images of each other, as Raiola flipped from an SEC power (Georgia) to his "home town" Big Ten school in Nebraska late in the process as well. Both Big Ten schools are backed by large, passionate fan bases not accustomed to plucking 5-star quarterbacks and are, clearly, willing to put their wallets were their hearts are. The Wolverine reported Michigan offered Underwood an NIL package worth "around" $10.5 million over four years. 

Assuming Underwood indeed signs with Michigan early next month, he'll be the first No. 1 quarterback to sign with the Wolverines in the near quarter-century long history of modern recruiting, and he'll join Rashan Gary as the only No. 1 overall players to sign with Michigan. Gary was the top recruit in the class of 2016. (The No. 2 player in the class of 2025, incidentally, is Bellefontaine, Ohio, quarterback Taven St. Clair, who is committed to Ohio State.)

Losing Underwood is a massive blow to Brian Kelly and LSU, to state the obvious. LSU's class, which at one time included No. 1 receiver Dakorien Moore out of Duncanville, Texas, before he flipped to Oregon, now sits at No. 6 nationally but fifth in the SEC. The Tigers also sit at 6-4 and out of the top 25 after dropping consecutive games to Texas A&M, Alabama and Florida -- each by double digits.

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.