Through the despair of a 5-5 season, there's been a shinning light of hope for Michigan football fans the past few weeks coming in the form of Bryce Underwood. The consensus No.1 recruit in the country, who plays high school football just 15 minutes down the road from Michigan Stadium, has been commited to LSU since January. Michigan had been in the mix up until his commitment but wasn't able to seal the deal.
With the struggle on the field the Wolverines have grown more desperate to land elite talent. That has resulted in Michigan football putting together a nearly $10.5 million NIL package to try and land Underwood. Suddenly, Michigan is back in the thick of this recruitment. But is landing Underwood really what's best for Michigan football going forward?
Michigan's Approach
Jim Harbaugh built this program up without the same recruiting success that the other perennial powerhouses of the sport have had. Harbaugh really valued 3-star and 4-star recruits- guys who were underrated and felt they had something to prove. These kinds of players had faced adversity and knew how to overcome it. It was players like this -- mixed in with elite talent at the right positions (J.J. McCarthy) -- that built the culture and ultimately success of this team.
The approach was termed "transformational not transactional" by Harbaugh. I think that there was always room to improve their recruiting under Harbaugh. There were still targets every year whom Michigan football identified as culture fits that they weren't able to land. On top of that Michigan has always had the potential to be a heavy player in the NIL era of recruiting by having one of the largest and wealthiest alumni bases of any FBS program.
Now under Sherrone Moore, as desperation and disappointment have grown, boosters have come forward willing to pony up large sums in exchange for top talent. Additionally, there is pressure on athletic director Warde Manuel to keep the program successful by any means necessary following criticism of how he handled Jim Harbaugh's contract extension this past year, ultimately letting him leave to the NFL. A growing mix of circumstances has led to Michigan jumping all in on the new NIL era of recruiting.
Transactional Recruitment
For Michigan football fans who have been desperate for this program to step up and adapt to the times the Bryce Underwood recruitment feels both refreshing and a little jarring. Michigan offering this large of an NIL deal feels so opposite to the way recruiting has worked the past few years. They have firmly ventured out of transformational recruiting territory. It's been reported by EJ Holland of the Wolverine that Underwood always had an interest in going out of state and playing in the SEC. Holland has also said that if it wasn't for the NIL deal on the table he doesn't think Underwood would have any interest in Michigan.
There's no denying Underwood's talent. And I'm also not saying that money can't be a factor in a recruitment. If an 18-year-old kid has a chance to set themselves up well for the rest of their life they should by all means take it. But money has to be just that- a factor. Is it really worth it for Michigan to land Underwood if it's for all the wrong reasons? I don't want to question Underwood's commitment level if he were to choose Michigan because I'm sure he'll give his heart to wherever he chooses to go, but if Underwood hasn't believed in the culture and overall program enough to commit at this point, is he really the leader best fit for the type of team Michigan wants to build themselves back to?
Other Options
There is a very real -- if not likely -- possibility that Michigan doesn't land Bryce Underwood. With only two weeks until signing day who else could Michigan land and could they be a better fit?
There is the potential for Michigan to go back to Carter Smith -- the highly talented quarterback out of Florida who beat out Ohio State freshman standout Jeremiah Smith to win the state's Gatorade Player of the Year award last season. Smith was commited to the Wolverines but recently decommited and reopened his recruitment with the growing speculation around Michigan and Underwood. Smith is a definite culture fit and has a ton of potential. The problem is that he isn't as polished, meaning he will likely need a few years to make an impact. For Sherrone Moore who is facing job uncertainty, he might not have time to wait.
Another name to potentially keep an eye is Cal commit Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele. The Hawaii native has been commited to the bears since July but has been taking visits to other schools including Oregon and Georgia. Jaron was recently named a five star recruit according to On3. Former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardener actually talked about Keawe Sagapolutele a few weeks ago on the MMQB. Gardener was working a camp for the elite 11 when he said that Jaron really stood out, talking about his size, natural throwing ability, and leadership.
There is no guarantee that Michigan will land any of these quarterbacks, but the most important thing has to be finding the best culture fit at the position. Landing a five-star would be great but unless Michigan starts asking their quarterback to throw the ball 40-50 times a game it likely won't make that big of an impact. J.J. McCarthy's best trait was always his leadership. His ability to make and extend plays certainly helped, but if you had to give up one of those two you'd sacrifice the latter. Don't believe me? Who had more success at Michigan -- Shea Patterson or Cade McNamara? The point is if Michigan truly feels that Bryce Underwood is their guy on and off the field then great. If not, they need to find someone else and they need to find them fast with signing day soon approaching.