mthoopsfan
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https://www.wsj.com/sports/football...arry-ellison-bryce-underwood-842d2c9a?mod=mhp
A coup of this scale was a rare cause for celebration in what had been a frustrating season for the defending national champions. Underwood, a five-star, 6-foot-4 quarterback from nearby Belleville High School, had been committed to LSU since January after Tigers boosters had promised him a sizable payout under new rules that allow college players to be paid for their name, image, and likeness.
“Dad, it’s Tom,” he told his father.
‘Tom who?’ Jay Underwood replied.
“Tom Brady.”
“Well, s—t, answer the phone, son!”
The former Michigan quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion talked up his alma mater and offered words of encouragement to the teen.
The calls with Brady escalated to three or four times per week, often before school. “That was another incentive—to be able to have the opportunity to talk to one of the greatest of all time on the daily, whenever you feel like giving him a call,” Jay Underwood said.
As if Underwood’s recruitment wasn’t already weird enough, the most notorious character of the 2023 college football season then entered the picture. In late October, Connor Stalions—the former Michigan analyst who is under investigation by the NCAA for sign-stealing—joined the Belleville High football staff as a volunteer to help the offense.
LSU’s offer was widely reported to be $1.5 million per season, though in reality neither school’s collective offered as much as that, according to a person familiar with Underwood’s recruitment.
Altogether, Jay Underwood said he expected his son’s earnings to exceed $15 million during his Michigan career."
"The Billionaire, His Mystery Wife and College Football’s Wildest Recruiting Saga
Why did Larry Ellison—a man with no known ties to Michigan—help the Wolverines land the nation’s No. 1 quarterback? The answer lies with a 33-year-old woman named Keren Zhu."
"I want to personally thank Larry and his wife Jolin who were instrumental in making this happen,” Nate Forbes, chairman of the Champions Circle booster collective, said in the statement.A coup of this scale was a rare cause for celebration in what had been a frustrating season for the defending national champions. Underwood, a five-star, 6-foot-4 quarterback from nearby Belleville High School, had been committed to LSU since January after Tigers boosters had promised him a sizable payout under new rules that allow college players to be paid for their name, image, and likeness.
“Dad, it’s Tom,” he told his father.
‘Tom who?’ Jay Underwood replied.
“Tom Brady.”
“Well, s—t, answer the phone, son!”
The former Michigan quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion talked up his alma mater and offered words of encouragement to the teen.
The calls with Brady escalated to three or four times per week, often before school. “That was another incentive—to be able to have the opportunity to talk to one of the greatest of all time on the daily, whenever you feel like giving him a call,” Jay Underwood said.
As if Underwood’s recruitment wasn’t already weird enough, the most notorious character of the 2023 college football season then entered the picture. In late October, Connor Stalions—the former Michigan analyst who is under investigation by the NCAA for sign-stealing—joined the Belleville High football staff as a volunteer to help the offense.
LSU’s offer was widely reported to be $1.5 million per season, though in reality neither school’s collective offered as much as that, according to a person familiar with Underwood’s recruitment.
Altogether, Jay Underwood said he expected his son’s earnings to exceed $15 million during his Michigan career."
