Well, Sherrone Moore caught a lot of side eyes when he dished out a $12 million NIL check to land the No.1 quarterback recruit, Bryce Underwood. So, one could imagine the burden of responsibilities that the quarterback is going to walk into in 2025 with. Now that he has passed ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum’s quality test, is what adds more pressure.

Finebaum said, “I think Underwood is, like a couple of other freshmen that we’ve heard about, the potential to be can’t miss. That’s a word that gets thrown around a lot with five-star quarterbacks, but he looks like can’t miss.” While the Wolverines fans will have to wait a little longer to witness the Underwood effect on the gridiron, they must now be nursing a minor heartbreak. Well, when it comes to their excitement level, it must have been topping off the charts now that the Big Ten Football Media Days are around the corner. But that’s the exact reason behind their sadness.

On July 24, Michigan football’s contingent will take center stage at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. This marks a special day as the new iteration of Big Ten media days will be taking place out West for the first time. The next question remains who will be representing the maize and blue gang? That’s when the Underwood snub gets exposed. Of course, head coach Moore will be in attendance, but the yearly question is which players will be the delegates for the Wolverines? The program has come down to a final list with three players who will be on hand to discuss the forthcoming 2025 season. As Big Ten Communications reported, fifth-year fullback Max Bredeson, senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann, and senior edge rusher Derrick Moore will represent the winged helmet out in Sin City. 

Yes, Underwood could not make it to the list of representatives. Well, Moore’s squad typically brings captains and seniors, including them for media days. While Underwood got snubbed, back for his fifth season, Bredeson will likely become a captain for the second year in a row. But it will be the first appearance for both Hausmann and Moore. Underwood’s quarterback competitors from other teams, like Penn State’s Drew Allar, Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola, and UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava, have punched in their Big Ten Media Days passes. The event will be taking place over a stretch of three days- July 22, July 23, and July 24, and has made space for 54 football standouts. Unfortunately, Underwood’s luck did not favor him. However, this miss is not raining on Underwood’s hype in any way. 

Bryce Underwood’s eyes are on something bigger than the media spotlight

“They would’ve been a serious postseason contender last year if they had a quarterback on the roster.” That’s what an anonymous Big 10 coach said about the Wolverines failing to protect their Natty last season. Their QB room combined to throw more interceptions (13) than TD passes (11), finishing with 1,678 passing yards, the fewest of any power 4 program. So, moving into the 2025 season, Underwood can’t afford to make any mess-ups.

Well, when the 17-year-old 5-star phenom to paper in December, the Wolverines fans could not keep calm. After all, quarterback recruits of this magnitude like Underwood’s come to Michigan. The Wolverines have been called “Position-U” across several units, but never for signal callers. And after J.J. McCarthy’s historic tenure, it felt like the Wolverines were about to return to quarterback purgatory. But Underwood is already tapped into his goal: Win the Heisman trophy and a national championship. So, anyway, Moore’s program is going to make the most out of it.

Coming off the spring, Bryce Underwood feels confident about his progress. “I’d say the speed of my game and also my (comfort). I went in a little nervous, of course, because it’s my first step ever being in college. But then it was just like, ‘hold on, this is just football. Relax. Calm down. You’ve been doing this for 10, going on 11 years now.'” The Wolverines’ 2024 season has been “anemic” when it came to their passing game. However, with Chip Lindsey at the helm, the Wolverines are going to throw the ball more. Underwood further sprinkled some more excitement, “Honestly, it’s going to be a big difference, a big change from what everybody has seen from Michigan football… ever… come August 30th.” So, there’s no time for Underwood to dwell on a missed media spotlight—he’s got a season to dominate.