Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State battling for No. 1 player in Michigan

Bryce Underwood is a name that not nearly enough people are talking about — likely because he is a 2025 target and the talk of the town is the 2024 recruiting class. With the 2024 class comes big names such as Jadyn Davis, though Michigan football is targeting many elite quarterbacks, Underwood included. Who is the Wolverines’ biggest competition for the No. 1 player in Michigan? Three familiar faces.

Wolverines have competition for the No. 1 player in Michigan

For those unfamiliar with Bryce Underwood, let me give you a crash course on the No. 1 player in Michigan for the 2025 class. Underwood is a 6-3, 210 pound quarterback from Belleville High School — less than 30 minutes southeast of Ann Arbor. Underwood is an On3 four-star prospect, ranked as the No. 4 player in the nation, the No. 1 quarterback, and the No. 1 player in Michigan according to On3’s industry rankings.

The University of Michigan has some serious competition when it comes to Underwood’s recruitment — the top four schools that are trending for the No. 1 player in Michigan are Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. Additionally, Underwood has a long and elite list of offers that includes schools like LSU, Georgia, Florida State, Notre Dame, Texas, and more.

Michigan State leads the charge?

According to the Recruiting Prediction Machine, Mel Tucker’s Michigan State Spartans lead the charge in Underwood’s recruitment with a 34.4% chance to land him. Behind the Spartans are the Michigan Wolverines (who boast a 24.2% chance), the Ohio State Buckeyes (10.6%), and the Penn State Nittany Lions (4.6%).

Despite being over 40 miles further from Underwood’s high school, Michigan State has a steady lead — that being said, it is far too early to tell, and Jim Harbaugh has plenty of time to close the gap and take the lead.

Underwood has a projected NIL value of $302,000, which hopefully will not become a factor in his recruitment to Michigan, seeing as the Wolverines are standing firm on their unique NIL policy of money being earned instead of given. The NIL opportunities will appear, but Underwood will need to work for the money if he comes to Ann Arbor.

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