Bryce Underwood is the next big quarterback recruit. Can Michigan keep him home?

DETROIT — The wildfire smoke finally cleared and the clouds finally parted. Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the Class of 2025, was up next.

Underwood was playing in a 7-on-7 tournament with his teammates from Belleville (Mich.) High School, the powerhouse program that is 27-1 with two state championships in his two years as a starter. The tournament was postponed from its original date because of poor air quality, and it was after 8 p.m. on a stormy Wednesday night when Underwood and his teammates took the field.

Compared with the crowds that will line up to watch Underwood play in college, the smattering of fans at Wayne State’s Tom Adams Field was a small one. It didn’t matter. For those two hours, Underwood showed why he’s on his way to being one of the best high school quarterbacks in Michigan history and one of the best prospects the state has ever produced.

Heading into his junior season, Underwood already towers above most of his competition at 6 feet 3. He can attack any part of the field with a flick of his wrist, and his athleticism has drawn comparisons to some of the NFL’s great improvisers.

“He’s a more modernized Randall Cunningham mixed with Josh Allen,” said Donovan Dooley, a Michigan-based quarterback coach who has trained Underwood since he was 9 years old. “He’s a unicorn.”

Hyperbole? For sure. Underwood inspires that kind of talk. He has a long road ahead to make good on those comparisons, but the attention he’s getting from major programs speaks to his potential as a 15-year-old prospect.

Underwood hasn’t released a list of top schools, but he dropped a few clues by posting photos of himself on visits to LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Penn State and Michigan. Underwood was in Ann Arbor earlier this summer for Michigan’s on-campus 7-on-7 event and has spoken highly of his relationship with new quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell. But if you’re looking for something more concrete than that, prepare to be disappointed.

“Wherever I feel at home, that’s where I’m going,” Underwood said.

Underwood has set a January announcement date, ensuring he’ll be one of the most-watched prospects in the country this fall. As he tries to decide where to spend his college years, he’ll be aiming to lead Belleville to another state championship and cement his place on the list of Michigan’s greatest prep quarterbacks.

Underwood has thrown 76 touchdown passes in two seasons, which puts him on pace to break the state record set by his predecessor at Belleville, Christian Dhue-Reid. With more than 5,600 passing yards, he has a shot to break Michigan’s career mark in that category, too. And his program keeps piling up victories, even in the midst of controversy.

Jermain Crowell, the coach who turned Belleville into a powerhouse, was suspended in the midst of last season’s playoff run and later fired for violating the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s undue influence rule. Crowell’s replacement, DeJuan Rogers, left for a job at Tiffin University in March and was replaced by assistant coach Calvin Norman, the former head coach at Detroit’s Cody High School.

Michigan didn’t have a great track record with Belleville prospects during Crowell’s tenure, but that may be changing. The Wolverines recently beat out Michigan State to land Belleville’s Jeremiah Beasley, a four-star linebacker in the Class of 2024, and have built a strong rapport with Underwood, who was spotted at a camp with Michigan’s Donovan Edwards earlier this summer.

The Wolverines have a blue-chip quarterback committed for 2024 in Jadyn Davis, but that hasn’t slowed their pursuit of Underwood, the No. 3 prospect in the 247Sports Composite for the Class of 2025. Landing Davis eased the sting of missing out on Dante Moore (UCLA) and CJ Carr (Notre Dame), elite quarterbacks from Michigan’s backyard who committed to other schools in the classes of 2023 and 2024.

With Underwood playing a few miles down Interstate 94, Michigan has a chance to load up its quarterback room for a battle royal once J.J. McCarthy departs for the NFL.

“He’s a special talent,” said Ty Spencer, who coached Moore at King High School and coached against Underwood in 7-on-7 events this summer. “We had a couple picks on him, and I was happy because I’ve been watching him thread people all summer. He knows how to put touch on it and how to throw it in there.”

Wherever he goes, Underwood will be a face-of-the-program type of recruit. That will be true whether he’s trying to deliver a national championship for Brian Kelly or Nick Saban, trying to flip the balance of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry for Ryan Day or representing his hometown for Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines.

Underwood has no stated preference about staying close to home or playing elsewhere, but there’s no question where his roots lie. They’re deep in the youth football fields of Detroit, where Underwood got his start playing for the Eastside Falcons when he was 9 years old. Workouts with his dad, training sessions with Dooley and trips to Detroit’s Sound Mind Sound Body camps fueled his rise up the recruiting rankings. Now the entire country is taking notice.

Dooley credits Underwood’s father for keeping him grounded, for continuing to push him and “never raising the pom-poms too high.” The spotlight that comes with being a five-star recruit wears on some players, but Underwood seems unfazed.

“I’ve been enjoying it a lot, honestly,” he said.

Dooley said he and Underwood rarely talk recruiting, and where he’ll land is anyone’s guess. Barring any late changes, the blue-chip quarterback board is mostly set for 2024, with Georgia (Dylan Raiola), Alabama (Julian Sayin), Florida (DJ Lagway), Ohio State (Air Noland) and Notre Dame (Carr) landing the top five prospects in the composite rankings.

If you’re looking for the next man up, he’s right here, throwing touchdown passes in the rain.

“He can do it all,” Dooley said. “There’s nothing Bryce can’t do.”

(Photo: Austin Meek / The Athletic)