Reports: Michigan to start true freshman QB and prized recruit Bryce Underwood

Field Level Media|published: 08/24/2025, 10:26pm EDT

Bryce Underwood, 17, a freshman quarterback at Michigan and the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class, participates in football drill during a private workout in Detroit on Saturday, June 21, 2025.

True freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, the top national recruit in the Class of 2025, will start for the Michigan Wolverines in the season opener at home Saturday night against New Mexico, according to multiple media reports.

Michigan is expected to make an official announcement on Monday, per the reports.

Underwood, a Michigan native, had flipped his commitment from LSU to the Wolverines last November. He would be the first true freshman to start for Michigan since Tate Forcier in 2009.

Also contending for the starting job were graduate students Davis Warren and Mikey Keene, the latter a transfer from Fresno State after starting his career at UCF. Warren guided Michigan to a 3-0 finish in 2024, including wins over eventual national champion and arch rival Ohio State and Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl, and he is still recovering from a knee injury sustained in the bowl game.

Underwood, listed at 6-foot-4 and 228 pounds, was a five-star prospect and the top overall player in the nation in the Class of 2025, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

A four-year starter at Belleville High School, Underwood went 50-4 with state titles in 2021 and 2022. He's credited with 12,919 all-purpose yards, including 11,488 passing yards and 179 total touchdowns (152 passing).

He was selected the Gatorade National Player of the Year as a junior in 2023-24.

--Field Level Media