Last year, the Michigan Wolverines pulled off one of the biggest recruiting flips of all time, flipping the Nation's top-ranked recruit and quarterback Bryce Underwood from LSU. The Belleville native was a must-get for Michigan, and seemed like the clear answer to their struggles at quarterback. The Wolverines wanted Bryce Underwood so badly that they gave him the biggest NIL deal in history, worth $10.5 million according to Michigan.
Once Bryce Underwood committed to Michigan, he quickly became the biggest hype man for the Wolverines taking aim at their biggest rival. Underwood released a video telling kids at an amusement park that he would take over Ohio while also going on the Rich Eisen show to share a story telling LeBron James that "It's over for Ohio State".
Last week, Bryce Underwood met LeBron James. During the interaction, Underwood told James, an avid Ohio State fan:
— Brock Heilig (@brockheilig) March 12, 2025
“It’s over for Ohio State.”
He tells the story on the @RichEisenShow pic.twitter.com/DvCgTUJNvz
Bryce Underwood looks foolish after his performance in The Game
The issue for Bryce Underwood is that receipts live forever, and eventually, he was going to need to prove himself against Ohio State. On Saturday, Bryce Underwood was underwhelming to say the least going 8-18 passing for 63 yards and an interception while adding 1 yard rushing.
The Wolverines went all-in to land Bryce Underwood, and when you pay a recruit the biggest deal in history, the expectation is for him to rise to the occasion in the biggest of games, and Underwood didn't look the part.
It would be easy to excuse Bryce Underwood's performance as he's a true freshman going against the best defense without great weapons. The issue is that Underwood set the expectation himself declaring it over for Ohio State, and then struggling mightily while a first year starter in Julian Sayin looked poised.
The next two seasons will be big for Bryce Underwood and Michigan, as you would expect him to develop and grow into his own, and Michigan will need to capitalize, as he'll have at least two more chances to win The Game.