Bryce Underwood saves Sherrone Moore's future, dims Brian Kelly's
Michigan football was bound to take a setback this season after losing its head coach, defensive coordinator, quarterback, running back, top wide receiver and 10 other players to the NFL. However, no one expected the Wolverines to be so bad that they used three quarterbacks and would be fighting for their bowl lives the week before Thanksgiving.
Passing has been Michigan's weakness as the defense is still one of the best in the nation, and the Wolverines couldn't return in 2025 with the same guys under center. So, their boosters ponied up enough money to flip LSU commit Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 player in the class of 2025.
Michigan put together an NIL deal upwards of $5 million across the span of at least three years to land it's first No. 1 recruit since Rashan Gary in 2016, according to On3's Pete Nakos.
While Michigan seems to have its quarterback of the future, things don't look as bright in Baton Rouge. The Tigers are having their worst season of the Brian Kelly era after last week's loss to Florida and are expected to lose quarterback Garrett Nussmeier to the NFL in April.
Kelly doesn't yet appear to be the coach that can lead LSU back to the national championship picture, but they may be stuck with the former Notre Dam coach for years to come.
If LSU were to buy Kelly out, it wouldn't be cheap at all, according to Yahoo Sports.
Year | Buyout Value |
|---|---|
2024 | $60.8 million |
2025 | $51.7 million |
2026 | $42.5 million |
2027 | $33.1 million |
2028 | $23.4 million |
2029 | $13.5 million |
LSU already paid Kelly's predecessor, Ed Orgeron, $16.9 million when he was fired in 2021. While Thursday appears to be a great day for one of the Big Ten's premiere programs, it's shaping up to be a terrible one for one of SEC's bigger brands.
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