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Why Bryce Underwood is On3's early No. 1 in 2025

charles power hsby:Charles Power•03/27/23•

CharlesPower

Underwood-

On3 released the initial On300 for the 2025 cycle on Monday, with quarterback Bryce Underwood debuting as the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Bellevile (Mich.) High signal caller is one of five five-star prospects in the release, along with defensive lineman Elijah Griffin (No. 2), Alabama wide receiver commit Ryan Williams (No. 3), cornerback Naeem Offord (No. 4) and EDGE Zayden Walker (No. 5).

Underwood is one of two current high school quarterback prospects to hold a five-star rating from On3, joining 2024 signal caller Dylan Raiola. After recent updates to the 2024 and 2025 rankings, Underwood is the only current quarterback to rank as the No. 1 overall prospect in his respective class by On3.

It should come as no surprise that colleges are lining up for the rising junior. He holds offers from the likes of Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M among many others. Michigan, LSU and Penn State have received visits so far this year. The Wolverines currently hold a slight edge in Underwood’s On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Let’s get into what makes Bryce Underwood On3’s initial No. 1 prospect in the 2025 cycle.

Bryce Underwood is a top arm talent

No current high school quarterback prospect put more high-level throws on film last fall than Bryce Underwood. There is a legitimate ‘wow factor’ to many of the throws from his sophomore season.

Underwood has a remarkably quick and strong arm for such a young quarterback prospect. The football jumps out of his big hand. He drives throws to all levels of the field with palpable velocity. Additionally, Underwood’s tight spiral and high spin rate contributes to rare juice on the tail of his passes.

Along with the pure arm talent, we’ve seen some very encouraging nuance and skill as a passer. Underwood’s ability to stick the football on his receivers against tight coverage is highly advanced for a high school quarterback. He’s more than comfortable standing tall in the pocket and throwing over the middle of the field — a skill that translates to the game’s highest levels. Underwood is particularly strong on RPO’s, using his quick release, live arm and feel for space to hit receivers with darts over the middle of the field.

The ability to throw with touch and location is notable. There are a number of layered passes on his sophomore video. We also see Underwood regularly target his receiver’s outside shoulder to optimize for yards after the catch.

Athleticism and run game threat

Bryce Underwood combines the rare arm talent with on-field athleticism and rushing ability that is among the best in the 2025 cycle at this stage. Though he’s a pass-first quarterback, we saw him rip off long gains on designed runs and scrambles.

Sources indicate Underwood runs in the 4.5-second range. He rushed for 642 yards and eight scores as a sophomore and showed good speed and agility at the second level. The rushing ability paired with the considerable passing skill makes for a dangerous physical skill set at the position.

Creative playmaking ability

While he does much of his damage working within the structure of his high school offense, we have seen Bryce Underwood make some tantalizing improvisational plays early on in his prep career. The play below caught my eye while watching one of Underwood’s live games back in the fall.

It’s not every day you see a 15 year-old quarterback step up in the pocket, roll to his left and deliver a strike on an off-platform inside-out throw after stumbling.

Producing on Friday nights

The physical and technical skills transfer over to Friday nights, where Bryce Underwood has led Belleville to back-to-back state titles. He completed 65% of his passes for 2,751 yards and 37 touchdowns as a sophomore, along with the 642 yards and eight scores on the ground. The production was similar as a freshman – he threw for 39 touchdowns, four interceptions and rushed for six scores in 2021.

Underwood is 27-1 as a starter and could feasibly leave high school as a four-time state champion.

Long-term upside

Unlike many top underclassman quarterback prospects, Bryce Underwood has positive indicators of room for growth. This is not a case of a topped out, early developer. Underwood has measured in on college visits at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds with a 10-inch hand. He’s grown considerably over the past two years.

Notably, he is very young for the cycle with an August birthday. Underwood should technically be a 2026 prospect, which is hard to imagine after watching him play the past two seasons. He will turn 18 years-old just days before the first game of his college career. While many top high school quarterback prospects are held back, there is no sign of any long-term benefit relative to the NFL Draft. Conversely, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts and Jordan Love are three recently-drafted quarterbacks who were young for their respective cycles like Underwood.

There’s a feeling in college circles that Underwood will end up around 6-foot-4, 235 pounds with 4.5 speed.

Looking ahead

Acclaim for young prospects must be delivered with the critical caveat that early recruiting rankings are a very fluid and long-term projection and subject to change.

While the first ranking sets the bar and oftentimes the public perception, it should be noted that progression and performance as an upperclassman takes heavy precedence over a sophomore ranking in On3’s evaluations. How quarterbacks play as seniors in high school has proven to be one of the more predictive data points in projecting long-term success at quarterback. We’re still years away from that time with Bryce Underwood and his peers in the 2025 cycle.

With that said, Underwood’s arm talent, athleticism, on-field play and physical upside put him in the pole position as On3’s No. 1 2025 prospect at this early stage.