Top High School QB Prospect Shuts Down Rumors of Potential NIL Flip to Michigan

The top high school prospect in the country essentially said he's not flipping.

David Rodriguez Munoz / USA TODAY NETWORK

High school recruiting in the era of Name, Image, and Likeness is an entirely different world than it was just a few short years ago.

While nobody is naive enough to think that the top players were not always being pulled in multiple directions with financials as a heavy influence, the game has changed with everything now out in the open. Just take the top high school quarterback and overall player in the class of 2025 in Belleville, Michigan's Bryce Underwood. The consensus best player in high school football has been committed to play for the LSU Tigers since last January, but reports recently have emerged that his home state Michigan Wolverines have been pushing hard over the last few months.

The Wolverines have been in the NIL related headlines recently due to Barstool Sports founder and media mogul as well as noted Michigan alum Dave Portnoy pledging millions of dollars yearly in order to help his beloved school land an elite quarterback as the team has struggled at the position this year coming off last season's national championship triumph.

Rumors of Michigan potentially flipping Underwood to stay home on the backing of a massive NIL pledge have heated up recently, but the quarterback essentially shut it down when he laughed at an Instagram post that alleged it was about to happen, commenting three 'crying laughing' emojis:

pic.twitter.com/znzi4UcRWz

— Mike Farrell (@mfarrellsports) October 19, 2024

Underwood is in historic territory in terms of NIL portfolio as a high schooler. With an On3 valuation of approximately $1.3 million before he even graduates high school and steps on campus in Baton Rouge, Underwood is already ranked No. 46 on the On3 NIL 100 list, the highest number for any high schooler. With a collective following across various social media channels of over 100k, he is one of just three high schoolers to have the coveted seven-figure valuation along with Tennessee offensive line commit David Sanders Jr. and Ohio State quarterback commit Tavien St. Clair.

Every school wants Underwood for good reason, he is widely seen as one of the best quarterback prospects in a very long time. No matter where he ends up, he will be guaranteed to cash in from an NIL standpoint, but LSU must do everything they can to hold onto the future superstar. If Underwood is being truthful, the Tigers have nothing to worry about.