The No. 1 player in the Class of 2025 is off the board. Bryce Underwood, a quarterback from Belleville, Mich., committed to LSU on Saturday afternoon. Here’s what you need to know:
- Underwood is ranked the No. 1 quarterback in the class by all four major recruiting services. He is ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect by 247Sports, On3 and ESPN. Rivals ranks him No. 2 overall behind offensive tackle David Sanders.
- He chose LSU over Michigan, Alabama and Colorado, among many others.
- NFL running back Leonard Fournette is the only No. 1 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite to sign with LSU in the modern recruiting era (dating back to 2002).
- LSU has signed two five-star quarterbacks since 2002 — Houston native Russell Shepard (No. 3 overall in 2009) and Louisiana native Ryan Perrilloux (No. 6 overall in 2005). Shepard, however, was moved to wide receiver shortly after he arrived in Baton Rouge.
Big win for the Tigers
It’s an impressive start to the cycle for Brian Kelly coming off a 10-3 season. LSU’s 2025 recruiting class now features the top quarterback, top receiver (Dakorien Moore) and running back (Harlem Berry) in the 247Sports Composite. Garrett Nussmeier, heading into his fourth season with the program, is well-positioned to take the reins from Heisman winner Jayden Daniels in 2024. But there’s no clear-cut starter in place for 2025 when Underwood arrives on campus. LSU has 2023 four-star recruit Rickie Collins, 2024 four-star signee Colin Hurley and Vanderbilt transfer AJ Swann — a four-star prospect in the 2022 class — waiting on deck. — Manny Navarro, college football staff writer
Advertisement
No. 1 target off the board
Underwood’s recruitment was interesting because not only could he have chosen any place in the country to go, his final choices were all very different. First, there was the in-state Michigan program that is surging right now and playing for a national title on Monday evening. There was also the Colorado program that has a flashy head coach in Deion Sanders and is trying to make a splash for the future. Then there was Alabama, the most dominant program in college football in the last decade led by Nick Saban, the greatest coach of all time.
Finally, there was the team that won out in the recruitment — LSU, a historic program that has had its ups and downs the last few years. The Tigers, though not elite on the field last year, had a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback. To take that next step as a program under Brian Kelly, the Tigers simply have to win recruitments like this. It was a very diverse recruitment, but LSU winning out style-wise with a kid from Michigan who could have attacked his career from any angle was impressive. — Ari Wasserman, college football staff writer
Required reading
- Recruiting roundtable: QB most likely to start Day 1, most surprising class and more
- Recruiting confidential: High school football stars dish on NIL deals, arrogant coaches and more
(Photo of Brian Kelly: Denny Medley / USA Today)