Nearly 50,000 fans stood in anticipation as Michigan football players began to stream out of the tunnel at Michigan Stadium and onto the damp field to begin warmups for the annual Maize vs. Blue Spring Game.

There was a tension in the air; everyone was waiting for the same person. A 17-year-old kid from Detroit, Bryce Underwood, emerged from the tunnel, and the crowd slowly began to roar as fans throughout the stadium realized he was there.

Not since Jim Harbaugh took over the program as head coach in 2015 had there been this sort of build-up for a single person. It felt remarkable that it was Underwood, given he would normally be preparing for his high school prom.

Instead, he is the newest star of Michigan football.

And what became clear Saturday in Ann Arbor: He is already Michigan football’s biggest star.

It was a day that saw recent legends return to Michigan. One of the program's most beloved players, Blake Corum, was back in the Big House, signing autographs and interacting with fans and players. The winningest player in program history, Mike Barrett, signed autographs for nearly an hour. Stars from 2024's team, Mason Graham, Will Johnson, and Kenneth Grant were on the sidelines. Kris Jenkins engaged with fans when he wasn't on the sideline. There were more. But none garnered the attention Bryce Underwood did.

The sounds of the crowd moved and reacted to his every move during the game, just waiting for a big play. The eruption in the game's final moments, when a trick-play touchdown to Jalen Hoffman ended the game, echoed like a regular-season victory.

But when it was over, it had just begun.

Crowds of people swarmed Underwood almost immediately following the game — photographers like myself, then current players, then friends and family, then recruits and their families.

Whether it was a security lapse or simply an intentional green light, the field began to fill with fans, mostly kids. They all ran to Bryce, hoping to get a photo with the new Wolverine superstar. I have never seen anything like it in a football stadium. Underwood tried to move through the crowd, taking photos as he went — looking more like a teen heartthrob from a boy band than a freshman quarterback at Michigan.

He emerged in front of the southwest corner of Michigan Stadium, and the fans in that area erupted again. Underwood headed in that direction, once again posing for photos, doing his best to satisfy the crowd. At one point, the clichés wrote themselves — Bryce was literally holding a baby.

A crowd formed around the tunnel at Michigan Stadium, waiting for Underwood to make his exit. As he walked into the darkness and began the steep climb, it became clear: Bryce Underwood is the face of Michigan football.

Yes, we will talk about a quarterback competition through fall camp. People are already overreacting to a scrimmage filled with too many variables to draw reasonable conclusions. It all feels inevitable. Unavoidable. The way players talked about Underwood after the game, it seemed even they were in awe of him.

Whether it was redshirt freshman running back Jordan Marshall or veteran fifth-year edge defender TJ Guy, their faces lit up when talking about Underwood — even if not as much as the 10-year-old begging for an autograph.

When Harbaugh was coach, there were star players like Corum and J.J. McCarthy who enjoyed well-deserved fanfare in their own right. But the program was always Harbaugh’s.

Sherrone Moore was given the difficult task last season of taking over a program while also trying to make fans feel like Harbaugh never left. A tightrope act that faltered — but was ultimately saved. Michigan's strong finish to the 2024 season gave Moore what he deserved: control of the program he now leads.

This is Sherrone Moore’s team now. The talk of continuity and the ghost of Harbaugh have largely faded. But make no mistake — this team, this program, for the foreseeable future, is linked to Bryce Underwood. That includes Moore himself. The success of everything at Michigan now seems tied to Underwood.

He has the it factor we all love to talk about but fail to perfectly define. We talk about an aura that surrounds him, or the commanding presence he has when he enters a room.

Even if that room happens to be the largest stadium in America.

I have no idea what Underwood will accomplish — or whether he will meet or exceed the lofty expectations placed on him not just by fans but by Underwood himself. In many ways, today was the beginning. Bryce Underwood played in Michigan Stadium, in a Michigan uniform, in front of a cheering crowd of Michigan fans.

What I do know is this: Michigan football now belongs to Bryce Underwood.

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