The state of Michigan is known for producing automobiles, apples, cherries and chocolate fudge, among other things. The state of Great Lakes Splendor produces a lot of great football players too.
Early last month, Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood raised a lot of eyebrows when he proclaimed himself the best football player to ever come out of the state.
"I feel like I'm the best player to ever come out of Michigan, that's for sure," Underwood said in the infamous full quote. "Because I worked for it. I'm working smarter than I was last year. So just blessed for the season to come up."
Underwood, a Detroit native, came to Ann Arbor in 2025 as the nation's consensus #1 recruit. The five-star of all five-stars, UM put the ball right
in his hands from day one. As a freshman, he showed a lot of promise, but at the same time, his play conveyed just how much room for improvement currently remains.
During his time on dias at Big Ten Media Days, first year Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham spoke of Underwood's comments, and made it clear, repeatedly,that he had no issue with them. Whittingham said he was happy that his quarterback had such high self-confidence and outsized ambition.
During his podium time at Media Day, Underwood was asked about these remarks several times, and each time he made it clear that he retracts nothing. He made sure this narrative was a non-story, and honestly, it is long-time to move on from that.
And if we really want to move ahead, far into the future, we'll see that the Motor City native is widely considered the top overall prospect for the 2028 NFL Draft class. Obviously, this is looking far beyond the horizon, but then again speculative predictions are exactly what the sports media markets truly want right now.
So how does Underwood level up his game this season?
"I feel like leadership is the main thing," Underwood said, when asked what it is, specifically, he's trying to improve upon.
"Being more calm, just trusting in my teammates more. What I love about my head coach, he's very aggressive. So, really excited to showcase what we worked on this offseason."
Speaking of other Michigander, and (actually Detroiter too) QBs in the Big Ten, Underwood then referenced Oregon's Heisman Trophy contender and top 5 NFL Draft prospect Dante Moore.
"I competed with some of the best guys from Michigan," Underwood said, "like Dante Moore, a couple guys that came out of the state of Michigan.
"My goal is to be the best no matter what, be the best of Michigan."
He also mentioned his relationship with the G.O.A.T. Tom Brady.
"I probably talked to him like a month ago or something like that," Underwood said of the New England Patriots legend and Super Bowl champion and MVP many times over.
"But overall, the message is just being me- that's the only conversation really."
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: 2028 NFL Draft prospect Bryce Underwood has the highest of ambitions
