Sherrone Moore and company scored a massive win on the recruiting trail last week by flipping five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood from LSU. Underwood has been heralded as one of the best players in the country at his position ever since his freshman year at Belleville High School, and now he’ll be taking his talents to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
It’s undeniable Michigan fans and the program should be excited to have Underwood in the fold. He’s an incredible talent that’s drawn comparisons to Vince Young and Josh Allen. He’s more than capable of making big time plays with both his arm and his legs, and possesses a maturity and football IQ that aren’t common.
Every year, there’s a handful of five-star quarterbacks that enter college football and offer hope for fans. It wasn’t too long ago Michigan had another one in J.J. McCarthy. However, many of them end up sitting for a year or two, whether it be to further craft their skills or due to the presence of a solid incumbent starter.
Underwood’s situation is different, though. He will have the chance to earn the starting job right away. Michigan’s quarterback play this year hasn’t offered much encouragement for the future, so the job should be up for grabs.
This isn’t a situation that presents itself all that often. However, there’s a decent sample size from recent years of true freshmen that have been their team’s primary quarterback. Today, we’ll be looking back at some of them to gauge what could be in store from Underwood in his first year on campus.
Jalen Hurts – Alabama (2016)
Despite being a relatively unheralded four-star recruit, Jalen Hurts made himself a household name as a freshman. Hurts threw for 2,780 yards and 23 touchdowns with nine interceptions. His biggest impact came on the ground, though, where he had 954 yards and 13 touchdowns.
He led a loaded Alabama squad to the National Championship, but ultimately fell short of the title in a nail-biting loss to Clemson.
Trevor Lawrence – Clemson (2018)
Lawrence wasn’t named Clemson’s starter right away, as he battled with incumbent Kelly Bryant through fall camp. However, Lawrence took over in Clemson’s second game of the 2018 season, leading the Tigers to a road victory over Texas A&M. Billed as a generational prospect, Lawrence showed he could hang. He finished his freshman year with 3,280 passing yards and 30 touchdowns.
He led Clemson to National Championship victory over Alabama as a true freshman.
Sam Howell – North Carolina (2019)
Sam Howell was Mack Brown’s first starting quarterback in his second stint as North Carolina’s head coach. Howell impressed on the field in year one, but was only able to navigate the Tar Heels to seven wins. He threw for 3,641 yards an 38 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Those 38 passing touchdowns are an FBS record for a true freshman.
Jayden Daniels – Arizona State (2019)
Before he was the Heisman Trophy winner at LSU, Jayden Daniels was making a name for himself in the desert. He won eight games as a starter at Arizona State in 2019, including an upset win over Oregon where he threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns. He finished the season with 2,943 yards and 17 touchdowns through the air, but also had 355 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Bo Nix – Auburn (2019)
Bo Nix entered Auburn as one of the highest-rated players in the 2019 recruiting class. He showed right away he wasn’t deterred by the competition in the SEC, leading the Tigers to nine wins as a freshman, including victories over Oregon and Alabama.
While Nix only completed 57.6 percent of his passes as a freshman, he had 2,542 yards and 16 touchdowns through the air. He also showed some chops as a runner, with 313 yards and seven touchdowns.
Caleb Williams – Oklahoma (2021)
Like Lawrence, Caleb Williams didn’t start for Oklahoma right away, but earned the nod thanks to Spencer Rattler’s subpar play. Williams introduced himself to the college football world with 212 passing and 88 rushing yards against Texas.
After earning the starting job in mid October, Williams led the Sooners to six more victories. He finished the year with 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns through the air with an additional 442 yards and six touchdowns rushing.
Dylan Raiola – Nebraska (2024)
Dylan Raiola was named Nebraska’s starter with some loft expectations placed on his shoulders. Things haven’t gotten off to the best start for him necessarily though in year one, as he’s led the Cornhuskers to a 6-5 record through 11 games in his freshman campaign. Additionally, he’s thrown for 2,112 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions to this point.
Bonus: J.J. McCarthy – Michigan (2021)
While J.J. McCarthy didn’t start a game for Michigan as a true freshman, he still saw the field plenty. He was mostly used as a running threat and had 124 yards on the ground in 2021, but he’d also throw it on occasion and had 516 yards and five touchdowns through the air. This might not be representative of what we see from Underwood, but McCarthy is the only true freshman quarterback to get substantial playing time in the Jim Harbaugh/Sherrone Moore era.
As an aside, McCarthy’s first collegiate touchdown pass was one of the most impressive plays of his career:
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