The news of former four-star Michigan football pledge Carter Smith's decommitment from the program on Wednesday night was met with mixed reaction.

Some Wolverines fans were concerned to see one of the leaders of U-M's 2025 recruiting class depart, not knowing what could come next. Others couldn't help but wonder if this meant what they thought it meant: Is Michigan really pursuing Bryce Underwood, the top rated quarterback and No. 1 overall recruit in the nation in the class of 2025 per 247Sports composite rankings, who plays up the road at Belleville?

Underwood has been committed to LSU since Jan. 6, just a few days before the Wolverines capped off their undefeated season in the national championship game, but the Wolverines have made a late push for the most highly desired high school passer in the country.

Could they actually be making some headway? Here's what we know about Michigan's recruitment of Bryce Underwood.

Bryce Underwood recruiting: Recent contact from Michigan staffers

It's not just rumor the Wolverines are in pursuit of Underwood. Last Friday in Howell, multiple staffers were on hand to see the state's top high school game of the week, when Howell stunned undefeated Belleville 30-29 on a last-second touchdown.

Wolverines defensive line coach Lou Esposito was presumably there to see U-M defensive line commit Bobby Kanka of Howell, but Sean McGee, Michigan's general manager and NIL coordinator, was also in attendance.

According to a recent report from On3, Underwood is projected to land an NIL package north of $5 million over three or four years. That's not all that matters of course, but U-M has the funds to make that happen.

For years under Jim Harbaugh's staff and into this first year under head coach Sherrone Moore, the Wolverines have marketed themselves as a "transformational, not transactional" program however there's reason to believe that's now shifting into a balance of both.

The reason being, the continued shift in the college football landscape. Revenue sharing is scheduled to begin next year on the heels of the $2.8 billion antitrust settlement in the House vs. NCAA in May, and now athletic departments will be eligible to pay up to approximately $22 million directly to their athletes next season.

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As a result, athletic director Warde Manuel came out publicly with a statement on the Wolverines' approach going forward and went on The Conqu'ring Heroes podcast with U-M football color commentator Jon Jansen as he explained U-M would be a player in the new era.

“We intend to maximize the revenue sharing opportunities presented by these new policies," Manuel said, "to support and recognize the NIL contributions of our student-athletes to the full extent allowed by the NCAA and the agreed upon settlement."

Recently, noted Michigan alumnus and Barstool Sports Owner Dave Portnoy said he'd be willing to spend more than $3 million to get the program a "top 10 quarterback" year in and year out.

An elite prospect

While J.J. McCarthy was a five-star recruit, Bryce Underwood is seen even a step above that. The 6-foot-3½, 215-pound dual threat signal caller would be the highest rated offensive recruit in the history of U-M football (since it's been tracked), as he's graded out as not just a five-star, but at .99999 out of 1 by 247Sports.

The only higher recruit to commit to the Wolverines? Rashan Gary, who had a perfect 1.0000 rating, in the Class of 2016. The only other quarterback who was close to Underwood to commit to U-M? Ryan Mallet, who was a five-star and the No. 2 pro-style QB and No. 5 overall player in the country in the Class of 2007.

As for Underwood, the tape and stats speak for themselves. Underwood was Gatorade Michigan Player of the Year in 2023, as he led the Tigers to a 13-1 season and runner-up finish. He completed 179 of 276 passes (64.8%) for 3,329 yards, 44 touchdowns and three interceptions before falling in the state title game to Southfield A&T. Prior to that, he led Belleville to its first two state championships in program history as a freshman and sophomore, when he was named the MaxPreps Player of the Year in his grade in both of his underclassmen seasons.

Underwood led Belleville to the program's first undefeated season in 2022 and as a freshman in 2021, won a state title as he completed 12 of 21 pass attempts for 284 yards and five touchdowns in a state title win over Rochester Adams.

"Potential franchise signal caller with the ideal blend of size, arm talent and athleticism," writes 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Irvins. "Exhibited no shortage of field command midway through senior season, which makes sense given resume: over 48 career starts and upwards of 165 touchdowns accounted for. Those numbers are amplified even more by the fact that he’s extremely young for the grade and won’t turn 20 years old until his third year of college.

"Has continued to improve as a passer and has gotten much more in tune with his mechanics. However, the biggest revelation in his final prep campaign has been his ability to move the chains with his legs as he builds speed and dodges defenders as an open-field runner."

Shortly after Smith announced his de-commitment, Adrian Walker − another U-M target and four-star athlete who plays at Belleville with Underwood − only added to the curiosity when he posted on social media of an emoji with its lips, zipped. It has since been deleted.

Early national signing day is just less than five weeks away, on Dec. 4, 2024, and Underwood is without question the Wolverines' top target.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bryce Underwood Michigan recruiting: Wolverines pursue Belleville QB