U-M loses 4-star Smith’s promise, targets No

Eli Lederman, ESPN Personnel WriterOct 30

, 2024

, 11:03 PM ET Close Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Four-star Michigan quarterback commit Carter Smith, ESPN’s No. 3 dual-threat passer in the class of 2025, pulled his promise from the Wolverines on Wednesday night, marking what might be the initial step in a potentially huge quarterback shake-up in the late phases of the 2025 cycle.Smith’s decommitment comes as Michigan has upped its efforts in recent weeks to entice LSU quarterback pledge and leading prospect Bryce Underwood into a late-cycle flip to the Wolverines.Underwood, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound passer from Belleville, Michigan, is ESPN’s No. 1 total recruit in the

2025 cycle and has actually been committed to LSU since Jan. 6, 2024. Following Smith’s decommitment, all eyes now fall on Underwood– who plays his high school football 18 miles from Michigan Stadium– a bit more than a month out from the early finalizing period.Smith, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound passer from Fort Myers, Florida, announced his choice on social media, composing in a declaration, “I would like to begin by thanking the training personnel at Michigan for everything they have done for me.”I would especially like to thank Coach [Kirk] Campbell for everything and for offering me such an unbelievable opportunity. With that being stated, I wish to reveal that I have actually decommitted from the University of Michigan.”@CoachRodeBV pic.twitter.com/3pgphuv9P0!.?.!— Carter Smith( @_CarterSmith9)October 31, 2024 Smith is ESPN’s No. 155 prospect in 2025 and was the sixth-ranked member of the Wolverines ‘inbound class prior to decommitting. With his recruitment reopened, Michigan now holds promises from just 7 ESPN 300 potential customers in 2025. Smith threw for 2,223 lawns and 29 goals

with 4 interceptions throughout his junior season at Florida’s Bishop Verot High School en route to being named the state’s player of the year. He dedicated to the Wolverines under coach Jim Harbaugh in November, selecting Michigan over Florida, Penn State, Miami and

Cincinnati.Carter’s decommitment leaves a hole at quarterback in Sherrone Moore’s inaugural recruiting class and opens the door for the Wolverines to land Underwood.Underwood led Belleville High School to a third straight state title game as a junior last fall and started the 2024 season as ESPN’s No. 1 overall possibility in the 2025 class.

He dedicated to LSU in January, selecting the Tigers over Michigan and Alabama following a junior season in which he threw for 3,165 backyards with 40 touchdowns and two interceptions.Editor’s Picks 2 Related “They used me as a sophomore, have actually been hiring me ever since and the program history,”Underwood stated at the time.”They have fantastic program history, terrific quarterback history, also. “Underwood has remained the crown jewel of LSU’s 2025 class in the 10 months since his promise. However, Michigan preserved contact with the state’s 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year before upping its pursuit of Underwood in current weeks. And with Smith’s exit from the Wolverines’2025 class, buzz around Underwood’s prospective flip will just magnify in the final weeks before the early signing duration

opens Dec. 4. Michigan sat at No. 14 in ESPN’s most current team rankings for the 2025 cycle prior to Smith’s decommitment, and might rise substantially in the last weeks. On top of the Wolverines’ pursuit of Underwood, Michigan remains in the mix for four-star security Jordan Young(No. 106 in the ESPN 300) and hosted Georgia cornerback commit Shamari Earls (No. 71)last weekend.The Wolverines host No. 1 Oregon on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.