Getty The Michigan Wolverines may be in the market for a new quarterback.
Rumors continue to swirl about what the Michigan Wolverines will do at quarterback in the future. J.J. McCarthy is regarded as a potential top quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL draft. This leaves the position up in the air for 2024.
Michigan is in contention for Bryce Underwood, the top quarterback prospect in the country for 2025. It is not an immediate solution, but the No. 1 ranked player could be worth the wait. On3.com lists Michigan second in the odds to land Underwood.
That’s the good news for head coach Jim Harbaugh, but the challenge is LSU is viewed as a sizable favorite at 91.7% in On3’s prediction machine. These odds give Michigan just a 3.6% chance to land Underwood.
On3.com’s Zach Libby believes the Wolverines missed a golden recruiting opportunity with Underwood as Alabama is attempting to gain ground.
“Five-star Belleville (Mich.) High quarterback Bryce Underwood returned to Alabama the weekend before the December dead period, which falls during his planned commitment date this Saturday,” Libby wrote in a January 1, 2024 article titled “Five things we learned about Michigan recruiting in December.”
“Underwood made an appearance on campus for Michigan’s win over Ohio State. Up until then, he had not been around the facilities since late July for the annual BBQ at The Big House. LSU has remained the favorite, but U-M could have earned momentum had Underwood and his family made one last stop in Ann Arbor,” Libby continued.
“The weekend he went to Tuscaloosa was a prime opportunity for quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell to have one final meeting, letting Harbaugh have one last meeting and watch Rose Bowl practice. Instead, the team is on the outside looking in, with six days left until Underwood announces a commitment.”
New Michigan Quarterback Jadyn Davis Is Already Practicing With the Wolverines
Jadyn Davis taking QB snaps.
The criticism is fair, but it is hard to get too frustrated with so much time remaining before Underwood can make a binding commitment. In the NIL era, we have seen top prospects change schools as National Signing Day gets closer.
The good news for the Wolverines is that Michigan already has a potential quarterback of the future on campus. Four-star quarterback Jadyn Davis, one of the team’s top recruits in the 2024 class, is practicing with Michigan ahead of the Rose Bowl.
247Sports has Davis as the No. 9 ranked quarterback in the country out of Charlotte’s Providence Day School. The young signal-caller already has the attention of Harbaugh.
“He’s doing it exactly how I just explained it and just the intelligence, the athleticism that it takes to do that, I found is rare,” Harbaugh said of his early impressions on Davis during a December 30 media session. “That you can understand something and then athletically be able to just go do it, as opposed to [needing] many reps, much time on task.
“He’s got the ability to visualize what you’re saying and then athletic enough to immediately replicate it. So, that’s special. That’s something I’ve noticed immediately. …So excited to coach him.”
Michigan Football’s QB Target Bryce Underwood Is 6-Foot-3, 205 Pounds
There is a reason why Underwood is being highly pursued by the top programs in the country. Underwood already looks like a college football quarterback at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds. The No. 1 ranked player of 2025 is a Michigan product at Belleville High School.
“Ahead of his years physically and looks like he could be a senior or college player already,” 247Sports’ Allen Trieu wrote in Underwood’s scouting profile. “Has a strong arm with the ability to make throws to any part of the field. Throws a good deep ball and can use touch to give his receivers a chance to go make plays on the ball.”