The college football recruiting world has been blazing up with the stunning flip of the five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood for a while. The LSU commit has always been the one-stop solution for the Wolverines’ persistent QB woes. Sherrone Morre went his ways and beyond to lure him to the program but got zero reciprocation. The in-state boosters chipped in and offered some big money to convince a reluctant top recruit. Finally, a huge NIL deal came down to 10.5 million dollars, reportedly 10 times more than what Brian Kelly had in his store for Underwood. And the rest is inevitable. The kid took a visit to Ann Arbor and finished the pen and paper task. But wait, it’s just the crux of the story. Many factors and figures responsible for the blockbuster flip have still been covered in the dark. To shed light on one, Dave Portnoy had an intriguing yet shocking revelation.

The man who has set the wheel in motion for the Wolverines Bryce Underwood deal is none other than Barstool founder Dave Portnoy. He was among the first who called for a 3 million gamble to find a right fit for the Michigan starting QB, ending their misery to some extent. Eventually, he learned that the deal with Underwood required a heavier paycheck. But from where did he get the kick to go for it? It is quite a story.

As soon as Portnoy made public his intention of getting a Wolverines a QB for the future, he got contacted by an interesting personality, Jolin Ellison, a Michigan alum. Upon inquiry, Portnoy found out that Jolin was married to Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle. Together, the couple had an ambitious plan. Bring success back to Ann Arbor. How does it start? Get Bryce Underwood. Well, that’s where Portnoy’s world overlapped with the Ellisons.

“I have two kids. I can’t stomach waking on a Saturday knowing that we’re not the best team on the field. I said I’m with you. Let us set up a call tomorrow night with Bryce Underwood. I said, ‘Count me in’. This was a month and a half ago. So, we jumped on that Zoom,” Portnoy recalled.

Well, now you may ask. What does this have to do with the Ohio State Buckeyes? Well, it starts with an OSU fan who works at Barstool. As Portnoy tells this successful recruitment fairytale, he couldn’t help himself from taking a shot at the rivals. At 10-1, the Buckeyes, one of the Wolverines’ rivals, have had an amazing season, even thrashing the Hoosiers in Week 13. Unfortunately for Sherrone Moore’s team, Week 14 is the Saturday for “The Game,” where two historic programs face each other. The November 30 matchup this year is seen as a foregone conclusion as everyone expects Ryan Day’s team to defeat the Wolverines. However, that may not be the case in the future.

While recounting his story, Portnoy adds a character named Brandon, who is also addressed as ‘fat boy’.

‘‘I came back from the meeting, I swore fat boy to secrecy on the bus. I looked at the fat boy with his big smile and a glimmer in my eye; I go, hey fat boy, you’re dead, you don’t even know what you’re walking into. I go, hey fat boy, who’s your biggest donor at Ohio State?’‘ Portnoy narrated.

Portnoy wasn’t done. The punchline is yet to arrive. Especially considering Brandon mocked him when the Underwood deal wasn’t getting done.

”I honestly think he said it’s a guy who owns a couple of car dealerships. Swear a billionaire. He looked him up. How many billions have you got? Have you got a few, two or three? My guy got 240 of them. 240 Bees! From that moment on, I knew Buckeye Brandon was a dead fat boy, and then the fat boy opened his mouth the morning of the show and said, ‘Hey, 10 million didn’t get your guy. I said to myself this fat boy can’t even win when he’s winning. Everyone’s dead. We have unlimited money.”

So, the unlimited amount of money. Despite having a 20-million roster, the Buckeyes may lag. It doesn’t matter that their main guy may have a billion or two, but the person interested in changing the fortunes of the Wolverines is over a hundred times richer.

Billionaire Larry Ellison came off as a huge leg up in Underwood’s heavy NIL offering

Dave has always been rigid in moving the needle alone for the most hyped-up Michigan recruitment without taking any help from the boosters. But then the Michigan team approached him and requested to have a talk with another insider who had a similar interest as him. Portnoy denied it initially but then took the call.

The potential donors in the call were none other than Oracle founder Larry Ellison (the second-richest person in the world) and his wife Jolin, a graduate from UM Ann Arbor and a passionate Barstool fan. The discussion between the couple and Portnoy was quite impressive and promising to the point that the former Michigan alum hatched a call with Underwood.

Bryce Underwood and his parents continued a video conference negotiation with Portnoy and the Ellisons on behalf of the Wolverines, and it clicked unbelievably well. One formal visit to the Baton Rouge and the dust settled between both parties, resulting in Brian Kelly’s biggest heartbreak. The former LSU guy is awaiting a black Friday collaboration with Barstool Sports.