When it comes to recruiting quarterbacks, Michigan football has an incredible resource in its back pocket: Wolverines alumnus Tom Brady.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion played a role in Michigan securing the commitment of top-rated quarterback recruit Bryce Underwood, who flipped his pledge from LSU on Thursday. Underwood is a consensus five-star recruit and the No. 1 ranked player overall by three of the four major recruiting services.
Brady and Underwood had a FaceTime call down the stretch of his recruitment, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, and the legendary quarterback has offered to be a resource and mentor for the Belleville, Mich. native.
Underwood had been committed to LSU since January, but Michigan put on a full-court press to flip the local star. Michigan's NIL efforts in the recruitment were reportedly robust, with the Champions Circle NIL collective welcoming Underwood to the Wolverines in a statement after his commitment, thanking billionaire Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, and his wife Jolin for their role in the recruitment.
“We are very excited to keep Bryce home in Michigan as he continues to build his legacy," Champions Circle chairman Nate Forbes said in a statement. "I want to personally thank Larry [Ellison] and his wife Jolin who were instrumental in making this happen by providing Champions Circle with invaluable guidance and financial resources.”
“I am a big fan of the University of Michigan and Michigan Athletics. We are excited to support our student-athletes, so they can go compete at the highest level in college sports," Jolin Ellison, a Michigan alumna, added.
The NIL factor has dominated many of the headlines around Underwood's recruitment, but the ability to build a relationship with arguably the greatest football player of all-time certainly doesn't hurt matters.
Michigan has the No. 9-ranked 2025 class in the country, per 247Sports' composite team rankings. Underwood is the second five-star player to commit to coach Sherrone Moore in the cycle, joining offensive tackle Andrew Babalola.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tom Brady Made Impact in Top Quarterback Bryce Underwood's Michigan Decision.
