Spartans' Bitter Rival Michigan Burning Pipelines, Money
The Michigan Wolverines were able to land five-star, No. 1 prospect Bryce Underwood. It took $10 million and the help of several elite alumni.
What did that get them? As Andrew Ivins of 247Sports wrote, a supposed Vince Young-level talent:
"Potential franchise signal caller with the ideal blend of size, arm talent and athleticism. ... Projects as a multi-year impact player for a College Football Playoff contender that has a chance to eventually emerge as a first-round pick in the NFL Draft with his tools. Might need a semester or two to find his footing, but ability to hunt big plays and distribute on the move could be hard to keep off the field even if he’s still learning how to dissect complex defenses."
In getting a transcendent talent, Michigan may have lost more in the long-term. Sure, Underwood is seemingly bringing every talented 2025er out of the woodwork to flip to Michigan. No doubt the Wolverines could dominate recruiting the rest of this cycle and in 2026.
But you have to find a way to keep all of that talent in the age of NIL and the transfer portal. There's only so many positions on the field.
To go with that, Michigan may have sacrificed valuable recruiting pipelines by showing they are willing to bypass traditional, grass-roots recruiting for massive NIL deals to simply purchase talent. One thing is for certain: they lost two very, very good four-star quarterbacks who could have made a difference long-term -- and who is to say Underwood even stays in Ann Arbor all four seasons?
The prize of the 2026 class, quarterback Brady Hart, was the latest blue-chip signal caller to ditch Michigan. He is now an Aggie for Texas A&M, and he also re-classified to the 2025 class.
"Modern pocket passer with a favorable frame that led his team to a Florida 2S title as a first-year starter," Ivins wrote. "More of a drive-ball thrower than can generate plenty of power by synching up his arm and plant foot. Owns a bit of an elongated release, but can get the ball out quick, and has to in a wide-open spread attack that wants to challenge horizontally with swing/screen passes. First caught our eye in a matchup against nationally-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas where he put a number of 2-balls on tight lines and exploited coverage. Also impressed with his timing as he frequently hit his marks on schedule.
"Can be a bit streaky at times, and isn't one with a ton of deep shots on the spray chart, but looks like a potential Power Four starter heading into junior season, especially if he can keep progressing as a full-field reader."
Underwood is far superior on paper, yes. But what Michigan's flailing for Underwood did was send a message that loyalty to recruits is nothing if there is something shinier. That is not a good message to be sending to the potential future of your program.
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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