Bryce Underwood, who is just shy of 18 years old, stands to be the biggest headline this season. The best player of the 2025 class will very likely lead Michigan’s offense this season – a unit that has guys much older than him rallying for Underwood. He’s getting the reps in, and is even projected to beat seasoned QB Mikey Keene for the starting role. At Ann Arbor, the Underwood fans are not just in the stands. There are some in the locker room as well.

Sherrone Moore, an offensive genius, will lead his second Michigan squad this year. And, he has the most dangerous weapon of the 2025 class under his belt: Bryce Underwood. Before signing day last year, Brian Kelly would’ve been able to claim all of this. Michigan is getting an absolute phenom of a QB in Underwood, who is the best solution one can get in the wake of Michigan’s disastrous QB play last year. 12,919 yards, 179 total TDs, and two MHSAA State Championships are enough proof of his potential. But Underwood is also just a great guy to be around, says fellow freshman Andrew Babalola.

During an August 4 episode of The Michigan Insider, The OT shared his thoughts on the young star. “Bryce is an incredible person in general, you know what I mean? And just how he handles everything coming through him, you know, the love, the positivity, the hate, just how he handles it. It’s really amazing to see, you know what I mean? And, you know, he’s just, you’ll never see the dude with a frown on his face. He’s always smiling… I can’t speak enough about it, you know what I mean?” he said. Underwood’s locker room praise is always along these lines. For a guy that young to strike up a bond with a program like Michigan, this speaks a lot about Underwood’s character.

“He’s made our jobs a lot easier just because, you know, we know that we have a confident guy in the back field that’s, you know, he knows what he’s doing. He’s going to lift people around him up. He’s going to make people around him better. You know what I mean? So, with Bryce, I mean, like I say, he’s an incredible dude,” he added. Bryce Underwood is “as good as advertised,” LB Ernest Hausmann said during the Big Ten Media Days. But the Wolverines are also just getting a great friend and leader in Underwood, which is a unanimous feeling all throughout the program.

Sherrone Moore has not given us any clues about who his QB1 will be. Underwood’s age is the number one factor that affects his chances for the role. An 18-year-old carrying a blueblood program on his shoulders is very likely to break at some point. At the same time, Underwood is working relentlessly to prove that he is not your average kid. Though the squad agrees on Underwood being a great player and leader, there is some hesitance in the staff when it comes to crowning him as QB1. Maybe this season, the QB takes a back seat while an experienced Mikey Keene leads the show.

Chip Lindsey still sees an opportunity in Mikey Keene

“We wanted to have as many talented players as possible to push everybody,” Sherrone Moore said during the Big Ten Media Days. Despite having a QB like Bryce Underwood, Moore still has a reason to worry. Underwood, yet to turn 18, hasn’t seen the action that comes with playing for Michigan just yet. He has two experienced alternatives in Mikey Keene and Jake Garcia. Keene is the senior in the QB room, having 2000 snaps in the bag. He has already started for full seasons in his career, and has played under OC Chip Lindsey at UCF. At this time, Keene is the Underwood’s main competitor.

The presence of this duo has a good chance of Bryce Underwood taking a redshirt for this year. “We need a couple of guys that have played, but at the same time we want to take the right person, too,” Lindsey told Detroit Free Press. Keene comes with 8,245 yards, 65 TDs, and 3 full years as a starting QB. He comes after nursing an injury, but the seniority is why Lindsey thinks Keene is also in consideration to be the Wolverines’ QB1. “The one thing he’s got is experience. … Mikey has played in an offense that is similar from a passing game stand point. So yeah, I think that opportunity is still there for him [to win the QB1 role],” he added.

It won’t be unusual for Sherrone Moore if he decides to crown Mikey Keene his starter. Michigan fans will be disappointed, but in this way, Moore will be saving the best for later. Keene, on the other hand, will also be playing for a marquee program for the first time. But three long years in the sport should make him a man seasoned for what the team demands of him.