Bryce Underwood sparks backlash over $3M NIL and Heisman talk before first Michigan snap

The quote that lit the fuse

Bryce Underwood hasn’t taken a college snap, but he already owns the loudest storyline in Ann Arbor. Michigan’s true freshman quarterback — the nation’s top 2025 recruit and the newly named Week 1 starter — told reporters he plans to win the Heisman and a national championship right away. He framed it as standard-setting. The internet heard swagger. And a lot of people heard entitlement.

The comments hit a raw nerve because of the reported price tag. Underwood signed what multiple outlets have described as a roughly $3 million NIL package — among the biggest deals tied to a college freshman. Michigan hasn’t confirmed the number, and NIL agreements are private by design, but the figure was already a talking point. Coupled with the Heisman talk, it became gasoline.

Reaction came fast. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit posted that a player with zero snaps and millions in NIL talking trophies is bad for team culture, urging Michigan to address it. Heisman winner and former Wolverines star Charles Woodson pushed back on the tone too, saying confidence is fine but there’s a line when it brushes the program’s legacy. Michigan fans piled on across message boards and X, with many arguing this is what unchecked NIL looks like.

Inside the building, head coach Sherrone Moore stood firm. He named Underwood the starter and didn’t blink when the storm came. “Elite talent comes with elite confidence,” Moore said, backing the freshman’s approach and preparation. Recruiting analyst Matt Zenitz added fuel from the other side, saying Underwood’s closed-scrimmage work looked like what he usually sees from high-end NFL prospects, not high school grads.

By late Monday, Underwood moved to calm things down. On Instagram he wrote that his words were about setting a personal bar, not disrespecting Michigan’s history, and promised to let his play do the talking on Saturday. He’ll get that chance in prime time when Michigan opens against New Mexico (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC).

The stakes are bigger than one comment. Michigan’s passing game cratered last year, ranking 120th nationally after the post-title reset from 2023’s championship team. The Wolverines slipped to 8-5 in 2024, their worst mark since the pandemic year. Moore needs a spark. Underwood is the spark — and the accelerant if it goes wrong.

Pressure, NIL, and the freshman QB experiment

Let’s be clear on the history here. No true freshman has ever won the Heisman. Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston did it as redshirt freshmen, which means they spent a year in college systems before lighting up the sport. True freshmen have starred — Trevor Lawrence took Clemson to a title run after winning the job early, and Jalen Hurts started for Alabama — but the margin for error is thin. The learning curve is brutal. The hits are real.

So why would Michigan hand the keys to a teenager? Ceiling, pure and simple. At 6-foot-4 with a big arm and legit mobility, Underwood projects as a modern spread-QB prototype. He can pull it on zone reads, drive the deep dig, hit the field-out with pace, and create when structure collapses. In closed camp settings, he reportedly handled protections and tempo better than expected for his age — a huge separator for any freshman.

There’s also context on the roster. Michigan’s quarterback competition included veteran Mikey Keene and former blue-chip recruit Jadyn Davis. The move to name a true freshman starter says the staff saw something consistent — command, ball placement, comfort running full installs — and believed the offense needed his upside on Day 1, even with the risk baked in.

Fans also read this through the NIL lens. A reported $3 million “deal” suggests a giant upfront check. Reality is more nuanced. Most NIL packages mix endorsements, appearance fees, charitable or community work, and support from a donor-backed collective. Payments are usually spread out, often tied to staying enrolled and fulfilling obligations. Still, the headline number sets expectations. It changes how every quote lands.

That’s why this particular line — Heisman and national title right away — blew up. It wasn’t just the words. It was the timing, the NIL figure, and the fact he hasn’t played a down. Veteran players did it the old way: camp, scout team, wait, earn. For them, “I’ll dominate from day one” can feel like skipping the line. For coaches, there’s a fine balance between letting a star be a star and protecting the locker room.

Moore’s message was simple: he’s earned the shot. If the head coach truly believes Underwood prepares like a veteran — mastering installs, hitting film study, winning situational periods — then the rest of the team will follow if the results match the talk. Winning cures almost everything. Sloppy turnovers, missed reads, or happy feet? That’s when the volume of Week 1 quotes gets turned back up in a hurry.

What helps him right away? A support system with training wheels built in. Expect Michigan to:

• Lean on quick-game throws early — hitches, slants, and speed-outs — to get him in rhythm.
• Use play-action from heavy looks to simplify reads and create chunk plays down the seams.
• Call designed QB movement — bootlegs and sprint-outs — to halve the field and let him throw on the run.
• Rely on the run game and protection help (chips by TEs and backs) on obvious passing downs.

What hurts him? Third-and-long. Late movement by safeties. Pressure up the middle. And the first real hit that makes a young QB question timing. College defenses disguise better than anything he saw in high school. The post-snap picture changes fast. If he holds the ball, that Heisman line will be trending again — for the wrong reasons.

Underwood’s backstory adds to the buzz. He rose as a five-star at Belleville (Mich.), courted by every power program, initially committed elsewhere during the recruiting cycle, then signed with Michigan. Keeping a homegrown star is the dream scenario for any Big Ten power. Starting him in Week 1 is the real gamble. The last time Michigan opened with a true freshman at quarterback was Tate Forcier in 2009. He flashed, took lumps, and became a cautionary tale about how thin the runway can be.

There’s a reason programs usually slow-play this. The Big Ten isn’t forgiving, and Michigan’s schedule doesn’t wait for development. Even with New Mexico up first, the Wolverines need a credible passing attack fast. The defense can carry you only so far when every scouting report dares you to throw.

On the Heisman talk specifically, the math is cold. Voters reward production, big-stage moments, and winning. Michigan quarterbacks who have contended lately — think J.J. McCarthy’s trajectory — did it with efficient play, clean decision-making, and a handful of statement games. For a true freshman to clear that bar, he has to play mistake-free early and peak late, all while navigating an entirely new world.

Back to NIL, because that’s where the sport is living now. The number attached to Underwood is as much about retention as attraction. If you don’t compete in the NIL market, you risk losing your best players to the portal at the first sign of a bidding war. Michigan learned that lesson across multiple sports. The money talks, but it doesn’t throw a single pass. The plan still has to work on Saturdays.

How does this actually end? A few paths are obvious. If Underwood is as polished as the practice whispers say, the offense stabilizes and the noise fades. If he’s average, Michigan can win games with defense and a strong run game while he grows. If he presses and turns it over, the call for the veteran option comes by halftime of a Big Ten road game, and we’re relitigating Week 1 quotes for months.

The one thing that’s certain is the spotlight. True freshmen rarely walk in with this much leverage, attention, and responsibility. That’s the NIL era. That’s the post-title hangover era. And that’s Michigan staking its rebound on a player who believes he’s ready right now.

Saturday arrives with a simple test. Can he protect the ball, hit the layups, and make two or three winning throws when the game tightens? Do that, and teammates won’t care what he said on Monday. Miss those, and the price tag and the promise will be the story again next week.

For now, the Wolverines have their QB1, the fan base has its lightning rod, and the sport has its latest NIL-era case study. New Mexico is first. The Big Ten grind is coming. And the microphone won’t be far from the freshman who asked for it.