• Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff WriterOct 30, 2024, 11:03 PM ET

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      Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.

Four-star Michigan quarterback commit Carter Smith, ESPN’s No. 3 dual-threat passer in the class of 2025, pulled his pledge from the Wolverines on Wednesday night, marking what could be the first step in a potentially massive quarterback shake-up in the late stages of the 2025 cycle.

Smith’s decommitment comes as Michigan has upped its efforts in recent weeks to lure LSU quarterback pledge and top prospect Bryce Underwood into a late-cycle flip to the Wolverines.

Underwood, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound passer from Belleville, Michigan, is ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 cycle and has been committed to LSU since Jan. 6, 2024. Following Smith’s decommitment, all eyes now fall on Underwood — who plays his high school football 18 miles from Michigan Stadium — a little more than a month out from the early signing period.

Smith, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound passer from Fort Myers, Florida, announced his decision on social media, writing in a statement, “I would like to start by thanking the coaching staff at Michigan for everything they have done for me.

“I would especially like to thank Coach [Kirk] Campbell for everything and for giving me such an incredible opportunity. With that being said, I would like to announce that I have decommitted from the University of Michigan.”

Smith is ESPN’s No. 155 prospect in 2025 and was the sixth-ranked member of the Wolverines’ incoming class prior to decommitting. With his recruitment reopened, Michigan now holds pledges from just seven ESPN 300 prospects in 2025.

Smith threw for 2,223 yards and 29 touchdowns with four interceptions during his junior season at Florida’s Bishop Verot High School en route to being named the state’s player of the year. He committed to the Wolverines under coach Jim Harbaugh in November, picking Michigan over Florida, Penn State, Miami and Cincinnati.

Carter’s decommitment leaves a hole at quarterback in Sherrone Moore’s inaugural recruiting class and opens the door for the Wolverines to land Underwood.

Underwood led Belleville High School to a third straight state title game as a junior last fall and began the 2024 season as ESPN’s No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 class. He committed to LSU in January, picking the Tigers over Michigan and Alabama following a junior season in which he threw for 3,165 yards with 40 touchdowns and two interceptions.

“They offered me as a sophomore, have been recruiting me since then and the program history,” Underwood said at the time. “They have great program history, great quarterback history, as well.”

Underwood has remained the crown jewel of LSU’s 2025 class in the 10 months since his pledge. However, Michigan maintained contact with the state’s 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year before upping its pursuit of Underwood in recent weeks. And with Smith’s exit from the Wolverines’ 2025 class, buzz around Underwood’s potential flip will only intensify in the final weeks before the early signing period opens Dec. 4.

Michigan sat at No. 14 in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the 2025 cycle prior to Smith’s decommitment, and could rise significantly in the final weeks. On top of the Wolverines’ pursuit of Underwood, Michigan remains in the mix for four-star safety Jordan Young (No. 106 in the ESPN 300) and hosted Georgia cornerback commit Shamari Earls (No. 71) last weekend.

The Wolverines host No. 1 Oregon on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.