LSU Football's Brian Kelly Reveals Impact of Bryce Underwood Flipping to Michigan

Originally posted on LSU Tigers on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers are "all-in" on the 2025 season with the program attacking the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason.

After signing the No. 1 class in America, Kelly revealed the program will spend "around $18 million" in order to piece together what has the makings of being a National Championship contending squad.

LSU utilized a strong offseason with the program raising funds, spearheaded by General Manager Austin Thomas, in order to have the money necessary to piece together the roster.

It's no secret the loss of long-time LSU Tigers pledge Bryce Underwood helped pave the way for the program to begin assessing the needs in the NIL space.

Underwood, who was committed to the Bayou Bengals for nearly an entire calendar year, flipped his pledge to the Michigan Wolverines prior to the Early Signing Period amid rumors of a massive NIL deal.

Though no numbers have been confirmed for the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 Recruiting Cycle, the rumor mill has circulated that the deal could hover around the $10 to $12 million range.

The loss of Underwood may have sparked the Tigers' new NIL approach with Kelly detailing how program's must "adapt" to the new era.

“In this new model, you have to be able to adapt to current circumstances,” Kelly said Wednesday via the SEC Coaches Teleconference. “Certainly, that was one big one that we had to address and adapt to.”

For Underwood, the Michigan Wolverines' signal-caller has earned the starting role ahead of his freshman campaign in Ann Arbor.

When it comes to LSU, the program's donors have stepped up to the plate with the Tigers becoming a headliner in the NIL space after a dominant run in the Transfer Portal.

It started with Kelly getting the ball rolling by announcing a plan to match up to $1 million in NIL donations ahead of the 2025 season.

From there, LSU was all in.

“At the end of the day, it was our fanbase that stepped up and said ‘We need to be a part of this.’ I think that, more than anything else — with the gift that I made and followed up with over 1,000 to 1,500 individual gifts to support our roster, I think that said that everybody had their ear to the ground and had to be ready to adjust or, as I said, be much more in tune to what was going on in college football at the time,” Kelly said.

Now, LSU is set to debut the new-look roster this weekend at Clemson in the program's season opener in Week 1.

This article first appeared on LSU Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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