Is Michigan playing smart or gambling big? Sherrone Moore, backed by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, just secured the infamous Bryce Underwood, a 5-star QB from Belleville High. That $12.5 million had Bryce Underwood flipping like Ishowspeed. But here’s the catch: college football’s best—like Kirby Smart—don’t hand out blank checks to high schoolers like that. So, is this the next big game-changer for Michigan, or are they out here overpaying? With expectations sky-high, Moore might be on thin ice with his young star.

On the November 28th episode of Kauff on Campus, John Middlekauff and intern Jackson Groff didn’t hold back on Michigan’s decision,“Is this a good move for Michigan because…. I have a hard time paying 10 12 million to a freshman when I…. get a transfer portal guy five years.” Cashing 8 figures for a high-school kid is a tough sell when you can grab a transfer with more experience. It’s a risky move when you could get someone who’s been around the block.

Middlekauff stated his logical answer to back his take, “Kirby Smart is not comfortable paying huge amounts of money for high school recruits at quarterback so Dylan [Riola] is at Nebraska and not at Georgia… to answer the second part of your question I would not… business of giving millions…to a high school quarterback I think that is [ __ ] insane.” Kauff preached here. To give 12.5 million to a high school kid, that’s utter blasphemy, only if you don’t have money.

For Kirby Smart, building a championship-caliber squad without tossing absurd NIL deals to yet-to-prove-on-college-turf talent has been the formula. Sherrone Moore’s big million moves with Bryce could either turn Michigan into a dynasty—or leave them eating dust if Underwood doesn’t live up to the paycheck hype.

Middlekauff didn’t stop there, ” To me it’s National Championship…. some out of his control like their team has to be good so it’s on the coach and the program but anything less than being like a potential first-round pick after you know a year or two starting…..he’s one of the best players in the country is just is a complete waste of resources.” They just can’t rely on Underwood’s arm talent. The entire Michigan must step up for this to work. With such hefty expectations, it’s no wonder people are looking eyes whether Michigan is taking a shortcut rather than building for sustainable success like Kirby Smart’s Georgia.

Bryce Underwood’s NIL pressure

Before fans start imagining Bryce lounging with $12.5 million in cash, Middlekauff cleared the doubts in the air,” This isn’t like they’re cutting him a $12 million check it’s like a year by year you know you get a couple million dollars you hit incentives like you got to stay with the program.” With all that bag comes heavy pressure. The structure of NIL deals means Underwood will have to put up $12.5 million in performance each week. God forbid, but what happens if he doesn’t live up to the hype? Michigan fans are already treating him like a $15 million savior. Anything short of that, the kid’s gonna get burned alive.

This move raises a bigger question: should the program chase the talent at any price tag to remain competitive? Kirby Smart’s proven approach says differently. Bring in the 3 or 4 stars and then turn them into Day-1 draft picks. For Michigan, this NIL gamble is high-risk, high-reward, go-big, or go-home type. If Bryce Underwood delivers championships, Sherrone Moore looks like a mad genius. But if he doesn’t? Well, that $12.5 million to drain.