On Tuesday, the Iowa Hawkeyes offered a scholarship to five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood. He’s the top-rated quarterback in the class of 2025 and the sixth-ranked player nationally. He currently has over 20 offers from Power Five schools that include Georgia, Florida State, and LSU. Underwood is listed at 6-3 and 205 pounds and is a native of Belleville, Michigan.
Hawkeyes Offer Five-Star Quarterback Bryce Underwood
As a freshman in 2021, Underwood led his high school varsity team to a Michigan Division I State Championship. He threw for 2,888 yards and 39 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He added six touchdowns on the ground. Belleville High School finished the season 13-1 in 2021. Following the season, Underwood was named MaxPreps Freshman of the Year. In 2022, he led Belleville to another state title. This time, they finished with a 14-0 record. He tossed the ball for 2,762 yards with 37 touchdowns last fall. The incoming junior in high school is only 15 years old. He actually enrolled in high school a year early.
Physically, Underwood is ahead of his age. He has a strong arm and possesses the physical traits of a player at the high school senior, or even college level. In just two years of high school ball, Underwood has shown a keen ability to make passes to all levels of the field including the deep touch pass. His passing game decision-making is already at a high level given his age, taking great care of the football.
Recruiting Competition
Underwood lives just about a half-hour from Ann Arbor, and the Wolverines are one of the teams that have already extended an offer his way. He’s an obvious target for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines. Several other top schools are going to be heavily interested as well. It’s significant that the Hawkeyes are in on his recruitment, however. It shows that they are in the hunt to go get top talent at the most important position.
Kirk Ferentz landed Marco Lainez III in the class of 2023. He is a three-star who will arrive on campus this summer to learn behind Cade McNamara. Lainez is a pro-style quarterback with a great build at 6’-3” and 225 pounds. He’s also not afraid to tuck it and run. Iowa also has a commitment from James Resar, a four-star quarterback from Florida. Resar has speed and a knack for downfield passing. It makes him a dual-threat in the pocket, which would be a bonus for the Hawkeyes in the class of 2024.
Now, Iowa has its sights set on Underwood, the top quarterback in the class of 2025. The competition for the top quarterback will be mighty, and an offer is just an offer. However, it’s what this offer means that’s significant for the Hawkeyes. The offense has been brutal over the last two seasons, but there’s been a shift in momentum this offseason. Landing McNamara is huge for the trajectory of the offense into the next one or two seasons. That has trickled into a future quarterback room featuring Lainez and Resar. With an offer extended to Underwood, it shows Iowa is not done pursuing the top signal callers.
Photo courtesy: Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
