Michigan did it.

The Wolverines did what many thought it couldn't do by flipping five-star in-state QB Bryce Underwood from LSU, a move that will have ripple effects across the country and multiple recruiting classes.

Here's what we heard at the time, couldn't report and what we anticipated throughout a complicated process.

Let's go inside the flip.

We received a text from one of our strongest sources on September 24 that the Underwood's and Michigan, particularly Sherrone Moore, had been talking and reigniting an old flame.

Those discussions started out simple but picked up significantly in the days and weeks ahead, culminating into news getting out that the Wolverines were making a push for Underwood and should be considered a legitimate threat to flip him.

The powers at be at U-M asked the NIL infrastructure to see if they can put together an NIL package for him shortly after it was established that the Underwood's were receptive to U-M and it was effective.

From those we speak to, the idea of Underwood 'maybe' going to happen to people starting to talk about the situation in certainties is the countless meetings people had and those involved being responsive to those meetings.

Countless meetings, discussions and work was put in to get this done by multiple people. Flights, phone calls and so many moving parts that all had to be synched together to make this work.

It was this work and U-M's having the resources to provide that changed the tides here. Multiple sources told us that U-M asked what it had to do to get back into consideration and get this over the finish line, and the Wolverines did exactly that. And, to be clear, the NIL package is significant and hard to turn down in itself; the money portion wasn't all of it.

After multiple rumors of Underwood being on campus, being around U-M's facilities, we can confirm that Underwood had been at practice twice this week leading up to this decision.

That wasn't the final decision, as multiple sources confirmed to M&BR that U-M had been working with the understanding that Underwood would come to U-M for the last month, which explains the lack of panic during the twists and turns of reports suggesting he's staying put and deleted Instagram stories.

This one had been wrapped up for a bit but was under lock and key, with no one wanting to be the "source" of any leaks. It was a fragile process and the Wolverines played it well.

It wasn't all good vibes, though, there were times when things were in danger of falling apart or not working out and it also didn't help that things became so public. There were people actively telling others to not discuss the proceedings as they didn't want to scare anyone off.

Ultimately, though, that didn't matter.

Those in U-M circles that were on a 'need to know basis' which included Moore, Magee and other higher-up figures in NIL circles had been operating since late October that a flip was a certainty but had to pretend to let a predetermined process play out.

The credit obviously deserves to go to Sherrone Moore to get this flip done. He has been relentless since taking over the job working on reorganizing the recruiting department, beefing up resources, being more organized and having more resources going to NIL.

He's not the only one responsible, though. General Manager Sean Magee, as we're told, put on a masterclass of navigating everything under a veil of secrecy. Him being meticulous and detailed throughout the entire process aided Moore and the Wolverines in a major way.

Champions Circle and other members of the NIL circle are responsible as well. They took marching orders and ran with it, getting Moore and Magee everything they needed as well as the Underwood's.

Everyone worked together, which is a major reason why things worked as it did.