Blue By Ninety - Trevor McCue of Rivals joins to talk Bryce Underwood, recruiting, and more

Episode Date: June 19, 2025

Just and Tanner are joined by Trevor McCue of Rivals to discuss Michigan's efforts with Savion Hiter, Bryce Underwood, and more.

All right. Welcome back to Blue by 90. I'm Justin joined by Tanner today and we've got a special guest on with us today. Our friend, uh, shotgunning partner at the tailgates. Um, friend, uh, you know, friend of ours now professional, uh, out there in the, uh, the Michigan recruiting world. Um, uh, rivals Trevor McHugh. Trevor, appreciate you coming out with us, man. Of course, man. There's video evidence that I am not good at shotgunning. So I it's all right, man. No, but I should have been on the Bongzilla. I don't know if you've done that, but I I can handle that. I can handle that better than I can shotgun. People might dispute this, but 2023, I was just like the football team never lost. So, you know, they can I'll take that. They can argue all they want. People say, oh, you didn't win. No, I won all those. Yeah. Well, and I always have Wadi with me. So I look, I mean, it we're as in the middle of off season as you can get right now

Just you know, it's just but I I say this all the time, but like I want to enjoy summer But then wadi speaking of the man puts out posts of you know Like I want to be back in the big house to it really we are in that exact time you know we put out the, uh, the video of 2021 Ohio state and just like pump it up straight into seven nation army. I swear to God, I, it was my own video that I put out and I still watch it like a hundred times every time I scrolled and saw it. It's just, I, I'm, I want to be here in summer. I want to enjoy a boat, you know every so often in Michigan all that but I'm still very ready for the big house

That's the most bittersweet thing about football All right It's like you don't want summer to go away quick and then you want football to get here then it's over so fast too Right, but you that that's 2021 video man that brought back memories I remember being at your tailgate and like our vibe, like nobody wanted to say it. We were all like supremely confident for some reason. There was some weird thing in the air where like, dude,

I think we're winning this game. I know. And then I had never, sorry to interrupt you, but like, I swear to God, I never felt that way. Even in like 2016, 2018, Like I didn't feel that way, but there was something in the air that day. It was really, it was really weird. And then going, cause I remember going into the stadium in 19 and being like, oh no.

And it was like 40% Ohio state fans to begin with. And then Dobbins fumbles that ball and it bounces literally like right back into his lap. And I remember being like, well, that's it. Like they're already, you know, but 21 was like cinematic from the beginning, man. The synergy, I remember I talked to Trevor Keegan after when the 23 season ended about that day

and just the way the sideline and the crowd and everybody was working together and it was just an incredible vibe. And you could see Ohio State all bundled up in cold. They didn't want to be there, man. They didn't want to be there. Also, somebody who I was not at that game, unfortunately, I made up for it by going to 23.

But that week, you just beat the breaks off Maryland going into that week of the game. And you just kind of felt, hey, Aiden Hutchinson is going to have to have a hell of a game for this to happen and there's gonna have to be things that go right. They all happened and I don't know like for you guys it felt more like a quiet confidence where you're like people you know like they like to you know get ribbed you and stuff at that point because it's like oh you can't beat them and you know friends that aren't even involved in the rival are like to give you a hard time.

But you just kind of always felt like, I don't know, man, there's something about this team. And I feel that they can get that monkey off the back. And then in the game, when Michigan answers every single time the bell, you're just like, wait a minute. And the moment that I knew that that game was over is when, was it, when it wasn't Denzel Burke, who was the Ohio State?

What's that Brown? Yeah, when he ripped off Romans helmet and every single Michigan offensive line we can't. I'm like Michigan's winning this game. They're not losing this game, so that's exactly what we can do. We can do like a full documentary

series podcast on just that day. Yeah, that day 222324. Yeah, the trilogy that day. Yeah. That day 222324. Yeah. The trilogy. The knowing I guess squad now but I could do a podcast talking about that day that was longer than that actual day like that. Right. But it is it is I mean those those are the fun things to look back on. You know now the Haskins photo. It's probably too dark. Oh there you go. There you go. I mean, those, those are the fun things to look back on. Um, you know, now the Haskins photo, it's probably too dark. Oh, there you go. There. I mean, that's a great one. I've got the here somewhere too.

I've got Rod Moore, uh, JSN over here somewhere. I think that's Patrick's pick. Oh yeah. It's Patrick's pick for sure. Shout out Patrick Baron. Um, go follow him on Twitter. Um, he's, he's the man. Um, all right. the from Michigan's the number one guy on the board I believe right now whether you know regardless of position Save you on hider. You know five star running back Five star or four star. Oh, he's five star. That's five star for sure across in every site It will see with the with July one when we come together on three

Yeah, I know he is on two four seven on theirs. I believe in the composite. He's a five star talent. I don't care what the number one running back in the country. It's not cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and so, I mean, I think I want to just talk about, um, really, you know, as we're talking about 2021 and even 22 and even a little bit of 23, you know, Michigan just hasn't gotten these guys to even come to Ann Arbor prior to the last call it 24 months, right? And so, um, you know, can you just touch on a little bit from your perspective where Michigan is at an NIL right now and how, you know, the recruiting landscape and how they approach it. And just like the fact that, obviously Bryce Underwood is here on campus, but it just feels like these types of guys

were not coming, not even making visits, pre-2022, pre-NIL. Now, Michigan is one of the big dogs in terms of always getting these five stars to come and take a visit? Yeah, I mean, it's a big, big question, right? But I think when you think of the different eras of NIL, when the doors first blew open and the NCAA frankly said, here you guys go, and allowed chaos to happen,

it was intentionally not policing things, Michigan was very hesitant to get involved in that Wild West scenario, right? And that was towards the end of Harbaugh. That was 21, 22, and 23. And Michigan fans were frustrated. And who were the darlings of that era? Miami, Texas A&M, Michigan State, who will see what recruiting violations are. If they're probably nothing, they're probably stupid, but from that era. Yep. Right. So Michigan for a while was basically out of it on top 100 and top 150 kids. Now the foundation of something they built then that led to a national championship and continues is

they were using NIL to reward the players that were here. Right. And to get the championship and continues that were here. Right. And to get players to come back. Right. That was a big piece of you'll remember better than me Justin, which was one more year or which order they came in. One more year fund was first and then those who stay.

There you go. But yes, go on. Massive, right? In terms of getting guys to come back and frankly just from, we talked about an ROI standpoint, do I want to invest in a college transfer who I've seen play college football or a four star defensive end that Miami's throwing a bag at? Right. Totally. But when Shrone first took over and there was all this talk about continuity and

what was going to stay the same, the one thing he said was going to change immediately was recruiting. He made that very clear. And that wasn't just going out and getting NIL. It was enhancing communication, enhancing the way visits are handled, everything in recruiting. And we saw him immediately implement this plan. And then NIL was part of it, right? Jim was always good about fighting for his players, but not necessarily going out and kissing the babies to get the money, right? And that's what Moore did. And we've seen Dusty May do that as well. And that's just kind of revolutionized. So now I don't think Michigan is going after kids they wouldn't have before. The way I've kind of worded is they're staying in recruitments now that they otherwise were losing out on because they didn't have the NIL structure. We saw a guy like Shemari Earls who wanted to come to Michigan, flips to Georgia, and then once that NIL switch came on,

hey, now Earls is back in the conversation. Bryce Underwood, despite what some fans, rival fans want to say, was on campus all the time, grew up loving Michigan. Of course, he's the number one quarterback in the country. He's going to test the waters about potentially going somewhere out there. But when Michigan was able to give him the entire package offer, right, that changes things. And one thing that's still key, though, and I keep telling people whatever you think Underwood's making this year, JJ made more than twenty three.

The guys that stay here and the guys that perform well will continue to earn. Right. So if Bryce ends up becoming anything close to what we think he can be by his junior year, I can't imagine the amount of money this kid's going to get. Cause Jordan's going to want in, you know, Detroit money is going to be pouring in. He's going to be a national story. So anyway. Yeah, no, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Just with, I think Sharone, I would say the difference was Jim Harbaugh was very focused on winning a national championship in like that two year span of 2022 and 2023. I think he very much knew that his future was somewhere in the NFL or something and all the NCAA bullshit.

No, he was just, he was running away. I don't know what you're talking about. Running away to live in California and be the highest paid coach in the NFL. And coach up Justin Herbert. Yeah, that all sounds terrible. He's also tending to what an escape right now. Not at the offices for 14 hours every day for recruiting weekend. Exactly. Um, and so yeah,

the recruiting was not the focus at that time to your point. You know, the NIL was focused on bringing back the Mike Stainter Stills and Blake Corum's and guys that were going to win him that national championship that he obviously did end up. I don't know if you guys remember this.

He did end up hoisting that trophy. I've seen some. Okay, I I have as well. Um good time. I I enjoyed watching that. Um and so, you know, as soon as as soon as it just adjust the way. Wait one two three four four four times in a row. That's our favorite. We've just been

doing that uh the last two months. It's been great. Yeah. Yeah. Um but uh you know as soon as it flipped over to Sharon, you know, he's thinking of this and looking at it as a an entire long term picture, right? And that's why I think exactly what you're saying, you know, he's like, all right, we got to recruit, I got to

go get some dogs in here, you know, we're basically, you know, flipping the roster from 23 to 24. I know you definitely obviously kept some huge pieces there that, you know, didn't translate to tons of wins. But I just think it's so encouraging where, you know, he added to that recruiting staff in a major way. You know, they have a ton more people on staff. So I don't think this is some like flip, you know, this like, hey, this is something that's a flash-in-the-pan type thing for Michigan recruiting. I think that they're going to be at the top for the, you know, the pretty long future here too. Would you agree? Yeah, yeah, it's very deliberate, right? And, and things changed in a line that allowed

Michigan to feel more comfortable being involved with it as well. And, you know, in terms of what, you know, the second era of NIL now that we're entering too, it's kind of a similar situation. Right? So Sean McGee had a plan ready to go. They've been talking to recruits about what the revenue structure is going to look like. And again, it's very heavily based on it's kind of like the NFL, what position you play, starter caliber or whatever. And they're able to show recruits like, Hey,

here's where you are. If you do this, this is where we think you'll be, et cetera. And the house settlement now has allowed another flood gate to open. And just like the previous NIL era, where maybe fans were frustrated because they felt like Michigan was on the sidelines. What happened as soon as the go button got clicked, boom, immediately. Right. And I'm telling you, whatever you think about the NIL clearing house and the legal stuff that's going to continue there, there's going to be schools caught off guard by this, right?

Sure. Who have their deals are not legitimate in the sense of business partnerships where the player's giving something to the business and vice versa. Right. And Michigan has done such a good job at the team program level, at the recruiting side of it, with the collective. And we've seen whether it's bringing in the third party with Altius and the GM there or the fact, I think it's 8 to 10 people now are on staff inside Michigan as well, a part of NIL, right? So there's just this unity and compliance and everything that's come together to make Michigan a top five NIL dog, which they should be. Yep. They should be. There's a way to be Michigan and have this, the thing everyone hates about Michigan, the leaders and best attitude and still be a part of NI on. I think that's the part Sharon got was, look, these kids know what they're worth. Right. We're going to sell them in Michigan, the culture, the development, but we're not

stupid there. They're getting 400, they're getting 500 from somewhere else. There's no reason we can't provide them that opportunity as well. And more. And I think you're seeing that with a guy like Heider, right? Because let's be honest, those 21 teams, there's a lot of luck involved there. Ohio State tells JJ no. Donovan Edwards is in your backyard.

Will Johnson's a legacy. Aiden Hutchinson legacy. Like a lot of these guys had that connection to Michigan and it was beneficial. Now you can go get a guy like Heiter who's an absolute fit and should consider Michigan and recruit him and have these conversations where, hey, this is what you're worth and we're gonna make sure you get it. Do you think, like obviously the go button

that you mentioned with the house settlement and I think that had been reported on pretty heavily across the Michigan landscape that Michigan is not going to over promise and under deliver like a lot of other schools would. So obviously that's part of it. But do you think there's anything as far as putting some of those self-imposed restrictions

that's kind of behind them now, is that also kind of compounding and letting them get out on the, in terms of the guys are bringing in, they just have a little bit more leeway now with those things behind them. Yeah, I don't know. I kept saying the same thing for weeks and months

while some people are trying to create this like Michigan panic where I'm like, do you guys not remember how Michigan recruits every year? First off, right? This isn't new in terms of the spring, summer, fall. And then, yeah, I kept bringing up this house settlement thing like, oh, they're not talking numbers. And part of that too, is like, these schools that go, hey, we'll give you a

million bucks commit right now. Like that's their strategy. You're on the visit, you're never gonna love me more than when you're on an official visit. Right? I always love when people are like, well, how did the visit go? Dude, visits don't go bad. Right. It's like, you're trying to know how is it? Yeah. You want to know how it goes? It's you get to come and you get usually served incredible food. It's all about you. Everything's personalized.

You get to put on all the gear, chains, whatever. You do a photo shoot of yourself. And then, you know, this is where people don't talk about this. Then you like go party on campus with, you know, all the college kids and whatever else, right? Like, it's, it's literally like, toting around, you know, a five star, like, red carpet style thing, right? Yeah, visits are gonna go well. If a visit goes poorly, like, I don't know what these teams do wrong, if I'm

going to be honest. Well, I mean, it goes back to enhancing not the communication piece to right, and making sure like, you actually know this person and you know what's important to them and their family and you're not making the wrong pitch, if you will, like that, that is part of it too, right? But generally speaking, like they're never going to be more in love with the idea of your school than that moment, right? Right. It's like when people go on The Bachelor, well, of course you're in love.

You're taking helicopter rides for your first date. Like, so some schools try to capitalize on that and create this almost ultimatum situation. Like, hey, dude, you know, you want to be, you love it, you know, here's a million bucks, but we've only got one spot, you know, and they get them to commit right away. And Michigan's never done that they believe in the long game, right. And because those recruits tend to stick a little bit better, those recruits tend to have gone through their own pros and cons checklist and when they do commit, feel good about committing, you feel good about the reason they committed, right? So like with a hider, do you tell him you don't want him to go on that Tennessee visit and

potentially hurt your recruitment of him? Michigan doesn't do that. They have to believe in what they've done and just hope that it wins out in the end, right? Don't tell the kid what to do. You've presented everything to him in the end, he makes the decision he makes kind of thing, right? So I don't think the restrictions were a huge, I mean, the lack of communication opened the door for those kinds of conversations to be had that maybe these other schools are making up ground. But as we've said about everything else, Michigan was prepared. They had conversations going into the restrictions. And as soon as they ended, they didn't just say, okay, now what they had their plan and they were ready to roll again. And that's the big thing. They adapt. And that's why I believe in Shrone so much is every time there's been an issue, he's been quick to identify it, have a plan, implement it and see results. So well, and to, um, to your point, you know, you look back on just to use the example of the,

the not communicating numbers and things like that. And the panic, you know, you look at what was it a month ago, the JVN Osborne, uh, you know, situation where that was reported that we lost out on him because we didn't, you know, didn't communicate a number. Um, and it was total panic on, on social media, on some websites out there, right? Like total panic, blah, blah, blah. Um, and then fast forward a month, you're hosting the number one running back in the country. It seems to be going well. It's like, you know what, maybe they do have a plan here, right? Like, yeah.

Well, and the thing with Osborne too, is back to that recruiting pitch thing. It sounds like the mistake was he never really was on board with being the two headed monster, right? And he loved that Notre Dame made him a pride. Let's be clear, the whole like Notre Dame versus Michigan thing, that was all set up. Like he was going to Notre Dame made him a price. Let's be clear. The whole like Notre Dame versus Michigan thing that was all set up. Like he was going to Notre Dame, right? They,

they wanted it to be this big win over Michigan, right? For sure. Um, but yeah. And, and there's other schools too. I'm not saying, I mean, we have seen it with Notre Dame. I'm not saying it is going to happen or it did happen with Osborne, but those million dollar offers, when those schools make it, they go, okay, now we gotta go find the money. They're making the offer before they know what their budget is. Right. Michigan's different where they're they weren't talking. It's like they

weren't saying numbers at all. They had a ballpark, but they're operating under, Hey, we know what our budget is. The later we get in the cycle and we've talked to other businesses about you so we can talk about the actual type of partnerships you're going to be in. It's a more legitimate pitch versus I don't really want to say any schools, but Hey, you see schools where all of a sudden that last month they start flipping away. Cause maybe that offer isn't what it was initially, or that spot's not there anymore. And that's what Michigan's trying to avoid. They're just being very business like about it. Yeah. Maybe,

maybe like a Trojan horse type situation. I think they, you know what I mean? They have like 40 commits right now. And they're probably gonna end up with like 22 because they do that. It feels like every single year. One thing though, just kind of off topic. Isn't it interesting to you guys that running backs coming out of high school are like, no, I don't want to be I want to be the featured back. Why would you not want less wear and tear on your tires? Right? Like that just seems like crazy to me. And I know agents are telling them that, like, look, don't go to a school that's gonna run you in the ground on carries

because you're gonna get to the NFL and they're gonna run you into the ground on carries. You gotta get your second deal if you're running. Yeah. Right? So you just need enough tape, especially if you're a five- star kid, you can go to college and not even really do anything. And that five star kid will still translate to the NFL.

Yes. Look at St. Brown on the Lions, right? Like somebody's still going to go, look, I don't know what happened in college, but this kid's got talent. I'm going to give him a chance. But if you're running back and you can go somewhere and get 200, carries a year get your film out there. That's enough. You know, don't get me wrong. A genti is a great story and it's awesome. But like if the Raiders run him into the ground over the next four to

five years, unless you're Derek Henry, who I have no, have you ever looked at his high school college and pro carries? It's unbelievable. Well, he's not really a human being. He also spends like six figures a year just on like upkeep for like his for him to do what he's doing in this era is just unreal. But yeah, I think I think most your running backs do see the value in that two back system. I mean, there's a difference. You know, what brought a Haynes here, for instance, Haynes wasn't just a matter of being in a two back system. He's waiting his turn behind guys.

He thinks he's better than just because of class and he's seen a quarterback at 200 carries a game too. Right. Right. And he sees how Michigan runs the ball, thinks I can fit in there and you know, him and Marshall have no problem sharing carries and parkers have no problem. So that's a, so on that. Sorry to interrupt again, but that's a perfect's a that's a that's a that's a that's a

that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a

that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's2 type role knowing that RB1 is there for him next year. He still can have an unbelievable breakout year this year as RB2, right? That would be a huge jump for him. I haven't settled on it yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna end up predicting they both rush for a thousand yards this year. I like that a lot. I wouldn't be shocked at all. Well, especially because we just, our quarterbacks just handed off. So that's. Yeah, that's all they do. Yeah.

It, it reminds me. On the five star. I keep seeing this nonsense and I'm like, did anybody actually watch JJ McCarthy play? I don't think they did. Sorry, go ahead. It's okay. No, I mean, and we can get into that.

I'm sure we will when we get into the Bryce conversation. But no, I just I think they're both, they have such similar skill sets that this is a huge advantage because my frustration last year was how Mullings and Edwards were used and when in their situational, calls in terms of when they were rotated. I don't think you really have to worry about that this year. There's not, maybe Haynes is a healthy Edwards and healthy quorum throughout 2022, because they're going to be playing a lot of different games,

they're going to be playing a lot of different games. And I think that's going to be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, whatever. I think it's going to be close to, you know, if we had had a healthy Edwards and healthy Corm throughout 2022, because I mean, it's the closest thing. Right? Totally. Those guys are so like 23. I was one of the national membership, but those 2022 Edwards and Corm and obviously hated to see why Edwards got so many carries because of the Corm injury. But man, those guys, I, I'm, I turned 30 in a week. I, in my life have not seen a duo that good. I don't think in my life, watching Michigan football, maybe there's some before my time,

but I mean, to go from Corum where he probably wins the Heisman if he doesn't get hurt, because that was kind of a, kind of a toss up year with Bryce Young winning it at that point but with Donovan sliding in I mean dude he was unbelievable that for Duke I mean you've got to have words Ohio State 200 yards like it was ridiculous you couldn't have painted that better where okay you lose out on your Heisman guy going into maybe the biggest game in the at the

time like the history of the rivalry right. Both undefeated. What was it? One versus three and three. Um yeah for for Donovan, you know, there are so many things that you can say about Donovan good and bad over his career.

You he's a Michigan legend for you know, just those games the I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you are. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you are. I'm not sure if you're

going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you are. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to

be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do that. not have the most consistent career, but he went 4-0 against Ohio State. He had two touchdowns, 216 yards in 2022. He threw a pass to Colston Loveland, I believe. Was it Loveland in 23? That was a huge set up for Fugl.

And then, you know, help win a national championship. So like, look, I want to say if he comes to Michigan to have a consistent career, but I'll take those numbers too. A hundred percent. You watch that dude's gonna have a, to Michigan to have a consistent career but I'll take those numbers too 100%. You watch that dude's going to have a he's going to have a career with the Jets, man. I think that's a really good fit for

him. Yeah, if somebody knows how to use running backs out of the backfield would be that's what he was always supposed to be and it never came to fruition for some reason. Ham Hall and Braille and that's sick too. I think

that's going to. Yeah. Yeah. And he's got a calling his place. So, yeah. There you go. Um Well, I want to give a quick shout out to Feldman Chevrolet of Highland. Um they are our title sponsor here for the

podcast and a Blue by 90 as a whole. Um so, go check out Feldman Chevy of Highland.com. They've got a huge used car uh lot there as well as a bunch of new leases and they've got some really good deals. I was just there with Donovan McCauley the other day getting him hooked up. So we got number one in a Chevy Silverado there. That thing was sweet. I know he blacked it out. They got it tinted, blacked out rims.

He was the thing he was going off about like he took it for a spin while he was there. He's like, this system in here is insane. So he was just bumping in that thing. And I was like, dude, all right, Feldman hooked you up. So I, you know, gotta get the boys right. And then little preview here. July 12, we will be there with a live podcast and there might be a certain quarterback plus some other players that are signing autographs there as well. You know, it's about me. Yeah, you, you for sure. A couple couple of times. Yeah.

Just some athletes there. Virtual athletes. Yeah. Um we will uh so check out uh you know, keep an eye on our page and Feldman's page. Um we're gonna be launching that here soon but July 12th. Um you're gonna wanna be there uh from 2 to 4 PM. Um and so yeah Feldman Chevy of Highland.com

also want to give a little shout out to Valor, Valor Strength and Performance. Um, they are a new, uh, a new gym here in Ann Arbor, right off of State Street, um, right off the highway. Um, I've been there tons of times. It is literally like the top of the top type of equipment there. Um, and so they have unbelievable, uh, therapy, uh, PT. They've got tons of equipment, tons of stuff like that. Um, so whether you're an athlete or just want to train like one valor,

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stronger, recover smarter, be valor. Appreciate them. Um and so next I wanted to talk about you Trevor and your squad um over there more importantly than Bryce Underwood or Donovan McCauley or, you know, anything. Let's talk about Trevor McHugh. Um, so you guys have some news over at rivals.

You guys are teaming up with the on three team, right? Yeah. So big full circle moment for those who don't know, uh, Shannon Terry. Originally it was part of the rivals launch and sold it to Yahoo Sports. Uh, and then down the road launched 24 seven sold the CBS and then launched on three. So he's been behind all three, but rivals has always kind of been his baby. So what a, what a, like, I don't even know what a business move to just have all three on.

Unbelievable. Yeah. It's pretty, yeah. Pretty smart. Pretty savvy guy. So, uh, he has brought on three and rivals together. At the national level, it's going to be huge. So on three will continue to cover college sports, NIL, the transfer portal, which they were way ahead of right when on three launched, that was the piece that they really understood. And frankly, us at rivals really were never able to compete with what they had from a transfer portal and NIL standpoint. The Rivals brand which has been around you know going back to the late 90s right is synonymous with recruiting it's synonymous with high school so all the

recruiting coverage will follow under the Rivals brand so at a national level the folks you see associated with recruiting at ON3 will now be under Rivals and then the college a national level, the folks you see associated with recruiting at ON3 will now be under Rivals and then the college folks will stay at ON3. For us at Mason Blue Review, we're really fortunate that we get to move to the ON3 platform and all of our subscribers now will have access to resources we just haven't had before, right? Like I just said, all of the Rivals recruiting coverage, all of the on three college coverage, plus everything we've always provided in our message board community as well.

So we're really, really excited just to be able to have that extra piece because the guys at Rivals, the national recruiting and then the regional guys as well, who a lot of those guys have all stayed because of the great job they did have always been fantastic. But obviously just from a platform standpoint, on three just offers a ton more to folks. And now our subscribers going to have access to that as well. So that'll begin on July one.

We'll have more information on like I think our sites like on three needs blue review or something, but we'll make sure all of our Twitter accounts and everything reflects those changes. But in terms of what we do and our coverage and where we are, everything stays exactly the same. We just now get to offer a lot more resources to our subscribers with this awesome on three rivals. Units, it's more of a merger than an acquisition because both brands are going to continue to

operate. Awesome. Super cool for your subscribers who have been there, you know, from day one and everything. And there's so many places to get, you know, get all your news nowadays. So really cool that you guys are doing that. And I have to imagine that you might be talking about Bryce Underwood a little bit here on both those platforms for the next, you know, nine months I can imagine that you might be talking about Bryce Underwood a little bit here on both those

platforms for the next, you know, nine months to to three years. but you know, report came out the the other day. I believe it was a Matt that came out with the report that Bryce is, you know, looking like the number one guy in the, in the QB room and he's kind of the front runner. Um,

and I think the words that he lived, that he said was that he's living up to the hype already. Um, which again, I kind of laugh at some of those things. It's like, all right, he's had only a handful of practice, you know, spring practices, um, some workouts and stuff like that. So how do you, you know, spring practices, um, some workouts and stuff like that. So how do you, you know, can you really live up to the hype if you haven't stepped foot on an actual field for a game day? But, um, you know, what are your thoughts on where we stand with Bryce here, you know, mid June moving into the season?

Yeah, I'm with you on that. Like I recently, uh, did a buy the numbers series where I took the best freshman seasons, I took the best Michigan seasons, I took the best chip Lindsay seasons and try to come up with some like realistic expectations for Bryce and his freshman year. And I think you can separate the two right like what he does on the field going into this year versus the expectations and where he's at now. Right. He's gonna make freshman mistakes. He just is. He's probably gonna throw some bad interceptions. It's how he learns and bounces back from those. But in terms of where he is now, back in the day, you couldn't start a freshman because

they just weren't gonna be physically ready. And everybody, I think, knew how big he was but then going back to the bowl practices, it was like whoa, right. This kid's seventeen like so just physically it's it's unbelievable where he's at. Well, and even in some of the videos that we've seen or pictures out there, you know, you look at him dappin up Colston Loveland who's six foot four, six five, and he's just towering over him, you know? Like. Yeah. No, he's, he's, he's six five two forty. He's gotta be. I mean, he's just a monster.

He's not fat. Okay. You guys. It's a weird time on Twitter. That one belly pick. Like, are you kidding? He's gotta go on Instagram and be like, still got six packers. Yeah, so weird. Which also if he's if he's fat, then I got it. I'm feeling real bad about myself. I'll say right now. But where I think the hype is coming from in terms of what you're talking about is you would expect a kid who, let's be frank, has already been put on a pedestal since high school

and has had the type of pursuit that he's had and had the type of dollars enter his life that he has, come in with a level of arrogance or cockiness or whatever that would have to be tamed down, right? And that the veterans would have to be like, listen, kid, right, and there'd be some of that. And that hasn't happened at all. It's been the exact opposite is maturity has really impressed coaches and players. Right? I think that's been the thing too, is even after the spring game, you've got TJ guy, Jordan Marshall,

you know, whoever that's been around, they're talking about Bryce, like he's the leader of this team already. Right. And that's not because of his're talking about Bryce like he's the leader of this team already. And that's not because of his recruiting rankings. They don't care about that. Right. But the way he carries himself and the way he practices and everything, he's already won this team over. Right. I, I'm kind of bum Mikey Keene wasn't healthy in the spring because I do think Bryce would have won this job outright anyway. But there was an advantage that only him and Jaden were throwing passes. I think that helped him. But there's players who were starter level on that national championship team with JJ who have already said they think he's better than JJ now. I don't know if that's true. I don't think it is. And I

don't care. But the players believe it. Right. That guy's starting like whatever debate people think is out there. He's going to get a chance. Like, what are we talking about? Right. So look, if it's the cliche first and last out stuff, but you know, the work ethic and what he's doing in the meeting rooms and film, like all that stuff's out there. But I mean, the coaches haven't been able to help themselves. They haven't even really tried to be like, well, you know, he's got to earn it. And you know, there, whenever he has some bra Bryce, they light up. And sometimes you see him catch themselves like, well, yeah, obviously he's got,

he's got some things to learn. But now they're so excited about this kid because of what he's shown them already. Again, that doesn't mean he's not gonna have bumps and learning lessons when he gets on the field, but the way he's carried himself and the maturity and the way he's not just being, hey, I wanna be the starting quarterback in Michigan.

Let's be honest, he's already the face of this program. He just is. And he's carrying himself really well with that pressure. I just wonder if with how much more advanced learning these these guys do in middle school into high school at the quarterback position. I just wonder if you I mean you've seen it right. I mean you go back to Michigan 20 years ago Chad Hen. I mean, he slid in and Gutierrez gets hurt. And I mean, Henney was a four year starter and, you know, set a lot of records

and had a very long NFL career. But you look at guys like Trevor Lawrence. I'm probably thinking about some guys, but there's been a lot more in recent memory that have come in and played right away. And even Lawrence, you know, he overtook Kelly Bryant after game four, I believe, back in 2018. But I just wonder if maybe this is kind of the continuation

of that trend where they're working with quarterback coaches at 10 years old. And I don't know if that's healthy. I don't know if I love that, whatever, but it happens. I just wonder with Bryce being as good as he's been since he was 14 years old as a freshman breaking records for Belleville. But you just wonder if he's just so prepared for this moment because he's been hearing it for the last however many years that he's

the greatest thing ever and it just doesn't affect him. Like everyone talks about that pressure and all the things that all the things that have been written about the NIL deal and all the nonsense. I just feel like, the NIL deal and all the nonsense, I just feel like it doesn't affect him. And Justin and I, we talked to Derek Moore and he's like, he was in my weight group and this kid busts his ass. Like, and that's how you're in the respect.

Yeah, so you're in the respect of your teammates. So I just wonder, I'm just thinking a lot, but I just wonder if that's a trend that we're seeing a continuation of, or if Bryce is really just special, it's probably both. I'm assuming I'm gonna get a resounding yes from Justin on this one. His parents and the people around him are amazing.

Yes, they are. Yeah, specifically I wanna shout out his mom who Jacqueline and I, my wife, we're at the day where he gifted the car back to his high school mentor. I'm a big fan of his. Um Jacqueline and I, my wife, the day where he gifted the the day where he gifted the and you know his dad is very and you know his dad is very involved in his dad's an

involved in his dad's an just wants him to be a good doesn't care. You know if he like I just want him to be a you know, if he becomes this NFL star, amazing. But at the end of the day, can you like, I just want him to be a nice kid. And I think that helps so much, you know, when you have those people in your corner. Um, and I think, you know, Tanner to your point too, of, um,

just like busting your butt and you know, him having just like this different mindset. I do like, I think JJ had a different mindset too. You know, I hate to keep comparing the two but that's just gonna you know, it's gonna happen right there. The the you know, two big dog QB is for Michigan in recent history. You know, but one thing that I've talked to some some guys on the team about that, you know, like in practice, you know, guys jaw back and forth, right? You know, wide receivers, DBs, everyone's talking even on the same team, you know, guys, jaw back and forth, right? You know, wide receivers, DBs, everyone's talking, even on the same team, you know, it's just, it's the, it's naturally what happens. They say that he doesn't like Hill more so like he knows he's better. He knows that, you know, he's better. And that it's just like, he doesn't have to say

it a lot. Quiet confidence. Yeah. Yeah. It's just like, you know, guys can say some stuff and he kind of just like laughs and shrugs and obvious. Like, you know, I said it to, um, Donovan McCauley the other day that like, he reminds me of, I think there's a cam Newton clip out there where cams, like they're taught. He's John with a guy on the other team. And he's like, wait, turn around, turn around. I need to see the name on your back of your Jersey because I don't know who you are, but you know who I am. You know, and that's kind of how I see Bryce a little bit. You know, just with that, you know, it's not like the arrogance and cockiness. It's just like, I know what I can do and I'm about to go do it type of thing. And so I really liked that about him.

And the other thing that I wanna just touch on just touch on for him, um, is that I've been hearing is like guys, he's just ripping off text to guys on the team saying, Hey, 5 a.m. tomorrow, 5 a.m. tomorrow, 5 a.m. tomorrow. And it's the middle of May, middle of June. You can work out at 8 a.m.

noon, 9 p.m. They've got really nothing going other than like one workout during the day. you can work out at eight a.m. noon, nine p.m. they've got really nothing going other than like one workout during the day and then they can kind of throw whenever they want. He is like, no, we're going to do this. Um, you know, I was given Donovan McCauley some crap the other day cause he's like, man, I'm not, I'm going to be honest. Like, I don't like those five a.m.s. Like I can, let's work out at 8 PM. I'm good. Sometimes

I'll throw with Jaden Davis down, you know, later in the day because you know, I can't make the five AM one every day, but I think, you know, Bryce is, he's coming in to try to set that standard for himself and for the team, right? Like we are

going to uphold ourselves to the standard and whether that's coming from him internally, whether Chip Lindsey's helping out with that, you know, guiding him coach more his parents, you know, whoever it is. Um, you know, that's just, you love to see that from your freshman 17 year old quarterback. Right. And that's, you know, that's the earned respect and the earned leadership, right? Like you're the quarterback. So it's like,

naturally people are going to expect you to be. But like that kind of stuff where you got a fifth year guy going, Oh, all right, Bryce, I guess like again, you got to tap yourself. He's 17 dude. Right. It's remarkable. Um, yeah. I think the people around him, I was talking with, um, one of our national recruiting guys cause the most recent video he put out got a lot of attention. And all of his videos he puts out are really well done. And we're talking about it's just so funny,

because during his recruitment, he didn't want to do a bunch of interviews. He didn't want to do these interviews. Yeah. But he's got, and he just wasn't super comfortable with it. But he's got this team around him. And I think that's what's so important is it's it's it's a professional operation. He's his own business at this point, right? Yeah. But they're doing such a good job of keeping that separate and just letting him

focus on football. You know, every kid thinks they're going to win a Natty and a Heisman and have those kind of aspirations. But when he talks about those goals, it's deep and he means it. He knows the work that has to go with it. I don't think he thinks his natural talent is going to get him there. And that's really, really impressive for a kid his age to have that mindset. And that's where all this confidence and hype is coming from.

It's that stuff. It's the intangibles. Harbaugh would have loved him, obviously. I'm with you on the JJ stuff. I think he reminds me a little bit of Andrew Luck, too, It's the intangibles. Harbaugh would have loved him, obviously. I'm with you on the JJ stuff. I think he reminds me a little bit of Andrew Luck too, especially the way like he talks. If he's a nerd like Andrew Luck, I think we're in for some fun years, guys. I'm just thinking about what you said

with the trash talk on the field. Like, Luck had a good way of like almost making you like him and it's like, stop it. Right. You know what I mean? I mean, it goes back to that. You know, there's the just the pictures of him smiling on the you know, on the field and different things like that. I really think that's how he carries himself a lot. game. I have never seen anything like that at Michigan. The stardom and aura that he already has. Hardball's first game in 2015, you know, that Oregon State game, right? Like some of that, but like

every recruit, the parents of players are like going up to him to get pictures and autographs and like this mob is just following him as he leaves the field. And I don't know, he just looked so natural with that environment. I mean, that's, again, you're 17, 50,000 fans and these people mobbing after you and he, I don't know, I always always talk about the the Justin Bieber thing when everybody was like oh he's you know what look at all the trouble he's getting in when he was younger bro if I was 18 and had that kind of money like I would have been acting crazy too you know and just again the people that are around him are doing a great job and he himself he deserves a lot of credit and then we'll see what he is as a football player Right that's still to come that is still to come for congratulations night game, Oklahoma week two. Yeah

but exactly Tanner you got something for Trevor before we sign off here. No, man. I was I was gonna agree with him I mean the 5 a.m. Workouts is very JJ McCarthy, right? Like the stories of him and Andrew speaking of Oklahoma, Andrew Anthony and Donovan getting workouts in after coming home from the Nebraska game in 2021, which is a night game. Like I lived in Omaha, Nebraska at the time. I didn't get home till about midnight. And from Lincoln to Omaha, these guys flew back to Ann Arbor and they were getting a workout in after the game.

That's very much- Well, and he's doing private workouts too, right? He's making sure he's spending time with each individual- Right. ... to get to know them and be on the same page and- Yeah. Yeah, so it's very much McCarthy-ish. And that's how Bryce is gonna be.

That's- I can't say McCarthyism, right? No, I had to say ish, I caught myself. No, but I think it's JJ-ish. But if he has that level and even maybe more so then JJ and JJ is an incredibly hard worker, obviously. But feeling pretty stoked about that. Trevor, you mentioned some things as you were talking.

I was like, oh my God, let's get to August, man. I'm ready. Let's get to August. At camp it's like six weeks. We're actually not that far away. I just really, I went like this. I'm just pitting out. This is, oh, that's bad.

I'm glad this is at the end of the podcast so that hopefully most, hopefully everyone's dropped off by now, you know. They closed off the tab. uh but yeah even exactly even you know just spending some more time with Donovan McCauley i'm super excited about him too um you know i think that the receiver room is so much different than it was a year ago and that's gonna help Bryce. He actually mentioned, I think some people will like this, he mentioned how just on the same wavelength him and Bryce have been already a lot where even when it's like backyard football type situations, they've kind of been in the same, they've been in sync there.

And so I'm super excited about that. um you know they've been in in point Trevor back when he first started this conversation was like, let we, we're going to have to tell ourselves to temper expectations. Keep telling ourselves, cause it's not going to be perfect. He's not going to be junior JJ McCarthy from day one, right? Because JJ doesn't have to be honest. No, you're right. Yeah. I mean, I think that's the big thing I keep telling people to one we're so focused on Bryce and what's going to happen with the passing game. We're kind of ignoring what we talked about earlier, which is this elite running game that they're going to have at their disposal. Right. And I think the defense is so to have that continuity come over and after they finished last year, that's a top five

unit coming into this season. And I've said to folks, look, if you had Bryce or, you know, whatever situation at quarterback last year, do you beat Illinois? Probably. Do you beat Washington? Probably. Do you beat Indiana? Probably.

That's 10 and two. Right. Right. So Bryce doesn't have to come in and be 2023 JJ and I think they can do some of the game managing stuff early. But the biggest thing is just some of the intermediate throws letting him take a couple shots and it's all about execution. Right. Even JJ was some of those deep shots. If they connect on four of those missed ones, his numbers go through the roof. Right? So having a guy like McCulley that can give you the third down targets,

the red zone targets, um, using Samaj correctly, having Fred Moore out there, having running backs involved. Yeah. I, I think the offense will take a step in execution alone and that's going to make them look more explosive and more efficient. And when Michigan's been at its best, they have the threat of a running quarterback and that's going to make them look more explosive and more efficient. And when Michigan's been at its best, they have the threat of a running quarterback and that's not always turned on with Harbaugh. I don't know what that'll look like. And obviously we talked about how physically ready he is.

It's a different game. We don't want to get a RPL. I'm going to lose my mind. I'm going to lose my mind. But his life, you watch his high school film and he's a better runner than he's a better runner than he's a fantastic runner so I mean his comp I've

seen I've seen Cam Newton I've seen this yeah. So I know I know but just the physicality that he runs with I think he can add a big. Layer to that run game and add a different dimension that's going to keep defenses on us and what Josh Allen, it's okay. Oh god.

It's it's June 18th. We are I don't know what to do here. I we need you said we got a separate expectations in my head. I'm like, I will not. I won't do it. We are. We are in trouble. I'll tell you that but Trevor appreciate you so much

for joining us today. Super excited for you that. But Trevor, appreciate you so much for joining us today. Super excited for you guys to keep moving on up with the On3 team. I think that's gonna be a great situation for everybody involved there. So very excited for you. Just excited for you in specific too, and your career, it's been cool to watch you grow

with Josh and the rivals team and for everybody who's listening to Trevor does amazing work very unbiased realistic, not clickbait like this is everything I want in a reporter right here. Just very professional. So go check out all this stuff. I'm just picturing all the Ohio State fans clipping that. It's gotta be better than go like, I've blocked him since because I block a lot of those guys. But like he's still to this day will comment like,

did you see what Trevor McHugh farted on the Blue by 90? No way. I'll dig it. That's half our viewership right there. I'll dig it out for you afterwards. Cause I mean. That's so good. I keep the game down on the mic. You know what I mean?

Just make sure. And the thing is like too, I'm like the way my mic works, I don't, I'm like, it definitely like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like,

I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like,

I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, you're still putting this I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, real quick. Let's talk about this PLI meeting. Yeah. Yeah. But uh

appreciate you, man. Very excited. Um tell everybody where um where they can go find you at. Yeah, absolutely. So, on all the social media is at Trevor McHugh. Uh find us there and then uh they said it's it's stuff made in blue

review. You'll have to search by the name right now. I'm not 100% sure. A lot of our stuff is branded Michigan rivals. Uh, we'll have to, we'll have to move that over on July one, but if you're following myself or Josh, uh, we'll, we'll be posting everything once the mergers officially happen and there'll be promos. So yeah, we'll, we'll make sure we get that stuff out there too. But yeah, thank you guys. Obviously you've been a huge help to me and always been friends,

but you've been a big boost to me professionally as well. So I appreciate you. Of course. Same here. Yeah, for sure. Well, for us, you can follow us at Blue by 90 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, at Blue by 90 podcast on YouTube and blueby90.com. We appreciate you. Go Blue. Go Blue.