Pete Thamel reveals likelihood Bryce Underwood, Keelon Russell could start for Michigan, Alabama

Five-Star Plus+ quarterback prospects Bryce Underwood and Keelon Russell battled it out to be named the No. 1-ranked QB in the 2025 recruiting cycle, with Underwood eventually locking up that title according to the On3 Industry Rankings. And, at least according to ESPN insider Pete Thamel, both Russell and Underwood are in the mix to be among the first true freshman QBs to start a game during the 2025 season.

Despite only being on campus a few months, both Russell and Underwood entered the offseason fully entrenched in wide-open QB1 competitions at Alabama and Michigan, respectively, though neither did enough during Spring practice to earn the job outright. Of course, with preseason practices beginning in August, there’s still plenty of time for that.

In fact, Thamel believes both could ultimately make their starting case during the 2025 regular season. In a Friday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Thamel suggested both Alabama and Michigan could start veteran QBs Ty Simpson and Mikey Keene, respectively, in Week 1 before reevaluating their options as the season progresses.

“I feel like who starts the season may not necessarily end the season (as the starter),” Thamel told McAfee on Friday. “You mentioned Ty Simpson, I’d think he’s the experienced, safe son-of-a-coach kind of a guy that they can roll out in Week 1. The name at ‘Bama that’s got some buzz is Keelon Russell. He was the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the country. Is he the kind of guy that shows the coaches enough where he could eventually end up taking over?

“It’ll be really interesting for Michigan, obviously Bryce Underwood is there. Mikey Keene has played a lot of college football, but you go to Oklahoma in Week 2. Is Mikey Keene the starter there or do you let Bryce Underwood rip?” Thamel continued. “Remember, there’s not a lot of empirical evidence of freshmen quarterbacks leading teams to conference titles. Look at Dylan Raiola for example, he struggled at times last year, straight up. So when to break the quarterback in to not hurt his development becomes pretty interesting.”

Keelon Russell, Bryce Underwood still in the mix at Alabama, Michigan

First-year Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb revealed Simpson would be Alabama’s starting quarterback “if we’re playing a football game tomorrow” in mid-April, ahead of the Spring game. Despite that sentiment, all indications are Simpson remains entrenched in a three-way battle with Russell and sophomore Austin Mack, who Grubb and second-year Tide coach Kalen DeBoer originally recruited to Washington before transferring to Tuscaloosa following last year’s coaching change.

“Ty continues to, I think, trend upward,” DeBoer said late last month. “I think all of them have really added to their game. They’re all at different spots because Keelon’s learning the system. The other two know it better, for sure. And Ty has been around and just has done a nice job. I think the trending upward is a big piece of it.”

Meanwhile, Underwood has already turned heads since arriving on campus, including in Michigan’s Spring game last month where he went 12-of-26 passing for 187 yards, one touchdown and one interception to go along with three sacks in the scrimmage.

“(Underwood) did well,” second-year Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore said after the Spring game. “Made some really good throws and had some things that we got to clean up and get better at. But he’s a continued work in progress, and he’s working his tail off to do it.”

Keene, a Fresno State transfer with more than 30 career starts under his belt, missed all Spring with an unspecified injury. He is expected to be healthy for preseason practice.

— On3’s Barkley Truax and Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.