The Weekender: Michigan Spring Game Yields Mixed Results, NCAA Changes Injury Timeout Rule to Combat Fakers, and Kidnapped Tennessee Fan Receives Nico Iamaleava Update After Rescue

By George Eisner on April 20, 2025 at 2:35 pm
Bryce Underwood throwing a pass in Michigan’s spring game
Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.

Michigan Spring Game Clouded by Overall Uncertainty

The Bryce Underwood revolution at Michigan will not be televised... at least not for another week.

The Wolverines did in fact hold their own spring game yesterday a week following Ohio State's, although the program made the curious decision last month to delay the broadcast of the scrimmage for a full week. The lack of a live look into the event only seemed to fuel the intense microscope on Underwood given the controversial nature under which he flipped from LSU to Michigan and somewhat excessive praise from supporters for his practice performances thus far.

Conversely, those eager to see the Wolverines suffer went out of their way to mock Underwood's crop-top photo op from spring practice with callbacks to the Jim Harbaugh Burgergate scandal.

A circus of celebration and scrutiny from opposite sides only heightened the anticipation for Underwood's debut in The Big House this weekend despite the absence of a live at-home audience. The roughly 40,000 fans that attended the spring game in person ultimately came away grasping for straws of optimism after what played out as a letdown debut for most of the afternoon.

Underwood completed just 11 of his 25 throws for 99 passing yards and an interception before Michigan opted to run a reverse flea flicker on the final snap of the spring game. The play yielded an 88-yard touchdown pass for Underwood to tight end Jalen Hoffman that greatly inflated an otherwise very disappointing stat line. It was one of only two touchdowns witnessed by the Wolverine faithful on the day, as the Blue defeated the Maize by a 17-0 final score.

Underwood also surrendered two sacks, recovered one of his own fumbles, took a pair of delay of game penalties and ran the ball three times for 17 yards. Although his completion percentage suffered in part due to some drops from his receivers, those in attendance still described many of his throws as errant, high and wide.

The young quarterback that grew up a short drive away from Ann Arbor clearly still has much progress to make if he's to fulfil the expectations that come with the over $15 million he's expected to earn in a Michigan uniform. Underwood told the Rich Eisen Show in March that his goals as a Wolverine football player include "a couple of Heismans and at least one natty."

The performance prompted head coach Sherrone Moore to declare after the game that the quarterback battle for Michigan's offense would, "go all the way to fall camp." Underwood's competition for the starting job would presumably include sophomore Jadyn Davis and recent Fresno State arrival Mikey Keene.

One Wolverine quarterback not expected to factor into that conversation? Chase Herbstreit. However, that did not stop his father Kirk from attending the spring game yesterday.

The sight of a former Buckeye quarterback metamorphosizing into a Michigan dad will surely sicken all members of the lunatic fringe much more than any throw Underwood made yesterday that won't air on television until next weekend.

NCAA Changes Timeout Rule in Fight Against Fake Injuries

On Wednesday, the NCAA's Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a change to the timeout rule in football starting next season in the organization's effort to police an epidemic of fraudulent injuries occurring throughout the sport in recent years.

The new rule dictates that teams will lose a timeout if medical personnel enter the field to evaluate a player after referees have already spotted the ball for the next snap. Teams without any timeouts remaining will instead suffer a five-yard delay-of-game penalty.

Although the public has called for a rule change of this nature for quite some time, the news drew mixed reactions as some speculated on the practicality of the enforcement relative to outright preventing the problem. Some fans now also have concern that the rule has the potential to unjustly punish players suffering delayed reactions to actual injuries, such as concussions.

In February, the American Football Coaches Association proposed its own version of the rule change that would have required players that receive on-field medical treatment to sit out the rest of the possession. The rule offered exemptions for players injured on a play that resulted in a penalty or for coaches that opt to sacrifice a timeout to restore the player's eligibility on that possession.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee said it would consider the proposal during its meeting two months ago. However, it would appear the legislative body has decided to adopt its own alternative.

Tennessee Fan Rescued From Kidnapping Demands Immediate Nico Iamaleava Update

Perhaps no tale better describes the obsessive hearts of SEC fans than the saga of Tennessee Volunteers fan Josh Sullivan earlier this month.

Earlier this week, Knoxville CBS affiliate WVLT-TV published the incredible experience of Sullivan's kidnapping while preaching a sermon in South Africa. Three kidnappers abducted Sullivan at gunpoint and held him for ransom across nearly a week before a late Tuesday night shootout killed the three men that took him hostage.

While the rescue itself serves as its own remarkable narrative, what happened next provided an even more unbelievable element to the story. In an effort to take Sullivan's mind off the kidnapping while South African authorities returned him to to safety and prepared to reunite him with his family, the subject of Tennessee football came up.

Sullivan grew up in east Tennessee as a fan of the Volunteers' football team and — in wake of his release — brought up the program's former quarterback Nico Iamaleava as one of his first discussion topics. Having been held hostage for the previous week, Sullivan had not learned the news that Iamaleava had opted to enter the transfer portal in pursuit of more NIL money.

Somebody finally relayed the truth to Sullivan when they asked, "well, you know, Nico left, didn’t you?" Upon hearing this, Sullivan apparently became "upset."

Fortunately, Sullivan otherwise seems in good spirits and has since reunited with his family. He offered a direct update and expression of thanks in a thread of posts from his personal social media account yesterday.

Sullivan's fellow pastor Tom Hatley has called on Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel or athletic director Danny White to, "get this man in to see the team, let’s let him run through the T, let’s do something because he deserves it.” As for Iamaleava, the former Vols quarterback will move to the Big Ten and play at UCLA this fall.

ICYMI

Roundup of 2025 NFL Mock Drafts for Pro Buckeye Prospects

The NFL Draft will commence less than a week from today, and while many expect Ohio State to at least recapture a share of its record for most picks from one school in a single class, when and where they go remains a subject of debate. Thankfully, Dan Hope and Matt Gutridge continue to round-up all of the expert mock drafts from across the sports media landscape to provide a rough estimate for each Buckeye.

Spring Game Film Study

Kyle Jones has emerged from his long winter nap to provide the Eleven Warriors community with the latest in his acclaimed series of film studies. Check out his thoughts on what fans saw in the spring game last weekend and subscribe to the 11W YouTube channel for more videos in the future.

OSU Men's Lacrosse Wins First Big Ten Title in School History

After a thrilling 10-8 comeback against Michigan yesterday that saw both teams rally from multi-goal deficits in the second half, Ohio State men's lacrosse won the school's first Big Ten title ahead of the conference tournament next weekend. Check out the recap for highlights of the exciting match.

What’s Next

  • 132 Days: Buckeye football season opener vs. Texas
  • 195 Days: Jim Knowles returns to Columbus
  • 223 Days: The Game
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