SAN ANTONIO – LSU has not named a new offensive coordinator yet. Coach Brian Kelly purged his defensive staff earlier this week.
Doesn’t matter.
The Tigers still landed 2025 five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood Saturday at the All-American Bowl as the Belleville, Mich., standout picked LSU over Michigan and many others.
Everybody wanted Underwood, who is currently ranked second in the 2025 Rivals250 and could push for the No. 1 spot as that recruiting class comes more into picture.
Throughout his recruitment, people close to Underwood said he was looking for a pass-happy offense and he found that in LSU.
Even though offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock left for Notre Dame, the Tigers’ offense should not change structurally in any significant manner and Underwood certainly saw what Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels did this past season.
LSU threw the ball 411 times for 4,406 yards. Michigan, which plays in the national championship game on Monday, has thrown it 342 times for 3,065 yards.
Michigan might have had a strong inclination that Underwood was looking elsewhere, too, not only after the five-star quarterback took multiple visits to Baton Rouge but continued to show considerable interest in the Tigers down the stretch.
The Wolverines took an early commitment from Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot four-star Carter Smith, the second-best dual-threat in the 2025 class, in mid-November.
If Michigan felt really confident on Underwood it would be surprising that they would’ve taken Smith so early although he’s also a major talent throwing for 29 touchdowns and running for 19 more this past season.
Still, LSU landing Underwood is a massive recruiting win for Kelly, his staff and his program.
The Belleville standout has rare abilities at the quarterback spot and while he might need to polish his throwing motion a little bit, Underwood is a phenomenal playmaker with all the tools to be elite.
Underwood does not talk much about his recruitment and doesn’t give away much when he does. LSU emerged for him long ago after many visits to campus and now he’ll let his play on the field speak for himself in Baton Rouge.
It has been a phenomenal few days for LSU on the recruiting trail landing Underwood and a few days ago getting high four-star running back Harlem Berry, who announced at the Under Armour All-America Game. The Tigers already have seven commits in the 2025 class, six of them as four-stars.
“It is a massive recruiting win for Brian Kelly and his staff at LSU. Adding Underwood to a list that already includes Dakorien Moore and Harlem Berry gives Kelly and his staff as strong of a foundation as any to push for that No.1 spot in 2025 when it’s all said and done.
“They’ll have the No.1 ranked quarterback, the No.1 ranked receiver, and the No.3 ranked running back. Depending on how future rankings updates shake out you could make a strong argument that they’ve got the top skill player at three different skill positions. When is the last time that happened? Has it ever happened?” – Jefferson Powell, DeathValleyInsider.com
Adam Gorney, National Recruiting Director
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