Sherrone Moore’s Aggressive Bryce Underwood Push Backfires as Michigan Suffers Serious Backup Plan Setback

In Sherrone Moore’s first season as Michigan HC, the program went from natty winners to a 5-loss team. While they somehow managed to get the better of OSU for a fourth consecutive time, overall their campaign didn’t live up to the expectations. But one area where the Wolverines went all in this season was recruitment. They signed 22  student-athletes to their 2025 recruitment class, adding multiple players at every offensive skill position group.

Michigan’s recruitment was heavily dominated by their pursuit of Belleville High School QB Bryce Underwood. The 17-year-old initially committed to LSU in January, but the Wolverines kept at their attempts to have him flip. It finally happened on November 21, with the young QB sharing his delight at the move.

Moore’s program splashed a reported $10.5 million in NIL and even sought help from Tom Brady to flip the No.1 QB in the 2025 class. Brady, who capped his Michigan career in 1999 with a win over Alabama in the Orange Bowl, convinced Underwood about the program over a FaceTime conversation. While this is a high-profile signing, its ripple effects are now beginning to show for Michigan.

With the transfer portal open, we all knew that there was bound to be some chaos. Now that Michigan has Underwood and a few other names at QB, they have to deal with a couple of serious departures. Anthony Broome reshared the post which confirmed the departure of Alex Orji with some brand-new details. “Michigan’s two QB takes in 2022 — Jayden Denegal and Alex Orji — now both in the portal,” Broome mentioned in the caption of his post.

See, one major problem for the 2024 season that Moore faced was QB depth. With JJ McCarthy off to the NFL, Moore was left with 3 picks: Alex Orji, Davis Warren, and Jayden Denegal. Denegal, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound reserve was a redshirt sophomore quarterback for U-M. He was seen as the fifth option this season and played in seven games across his three years in Ann Arbor. He played in seven games across his three years in Ann Arbor.

Denegal announced his departure in a tweet on December 8 writing, “I have loved my time at the University of Michigan. I have had an opportunity to develop in one of the most iconic football programs in the nation.” He was expected to compete for the starting QB position in 2024 but did not play in a game this season.

Oriji, on the other hand, appeared in 20 games with three starts across three seasons for the Wolverines. He was put into the spotlight when he took over from Davis Warren in midseason. His best game saw him complete 10 of 16 passes for 86 yards with one touchdown and one turnover. This season he went for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns.

In his career, Orji completed 24 of 45 passes (53.3%) for 148 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Orji was much more effective on the ground, carrying the ball 74 times for 383 yards (5.2 yards per carry) and four touchdowns across his time in Ann Arbor.

Though Michigan gained three-star recruit Chase Herbstreit, son of former OSU quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, the departure of Orji and Denegal could hurt their depth at the QB position. Herbstreit does not have a ranking in 247’s composite rankings, which suggests he might not fit into the team straight away. They still have Warren but his struggles at the start of this season led Moore to replace him with Oriji.

Then we have 2024’s four-star recruit Jaydn Davis, who was thought to be J.J. McCarthy’s successor. But it has been far from smooth sailing for him. He did not attempt a pass during his true freshman season this fall, playing just one snap. His future at the program is uncertain after Underwood’s arrival and there is no guarantee that will remain in Ann Arbor beyond the ReliaQuest bowl. Additionally, the lack of depth for Moore at the QB could give him a headache heading into the bowl game against Alabama.

ReliaQuest Bowl anyone?

So there is the thing. The committee probably thought it would be a great prank to pair Bama against Michigan for the Bowl game. One thing is for sure: with Orji and Jayden hitting the portal, this game is going to get tough.

There are no rules regarding whether players who have hit the portal can play in the Bowl game or not. If we assume that Orji and Jayden don’t come back, who will Moore even rely on? Warren over there has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. This guy is going to help them win?

Yeah, Bama ain’t the same team it was during the Nick Saban era, but they are more sorted than what Moore got over here.  Michigan already caused OSU a massive upset, so nothing is set in stone. If Bama OC Nick Sheridan messes up the offense playcalling yet again, then we could easily see Moore grabbing a Bowl game win.