Quarterback Carter Smith had been committed to Michigan for nearly a year when he arrived at the Big House last month to watch a game against Michigan State. As far as he knew, nothing about his future with the program was different. He was still the only quarterback in Michigan’s 2025 class, and this was just another routine visit to Ann Arbor.
But a few hours into the trip, Smith learned from offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell that plans had changed. The Wolverines were pursuing in-state prospect Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 player in the country, who had been committed to LSU since January. If that meant taking two quarterbacks, then they would.
“Essentially my son’s having to sit through that game, just being totally blindsided and devastated about what’s going on,” said Smith’s father, Dan. “I made him not de-commit because he was going to do it in person up there on the visit. He came home and we talked about it and made him sleep on it a couple nights. Then, we let him pull the trigger.”
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Smith decommitted from Michigan four days later, part of a chain reaction among several of the country’s top high school quarterbacks that ultimately led Smith to another Big Ten program — Wisconsin. On Sunday, he publicly announced his commitment to the Badgers in one of the biggest recruiting coups under second-year head coach Luke Fickell.
Smith, a four-star prospect from Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, Fla., is the No. 15 quarterback in the 247Sports Composite and represents the second-highest quarterback for the Badgers in the online ranking era, behind only Graham Mertz in the 2019 class. Smith will sign with Wisconsin during the early signing period beginning Dec. 4 and enroll in January to participate in spring practices. He is a dual-threat quarterback whose skill set could fit what Fickell needs to elevate the program at a critical inflection point.
“Carter is an old throwback,” Bishop Verot football coach Richie Rode said. “The glitz and the glamor and the flash and the NIL and the Twitter posts, none of that has ever really mattered to him. Ever. He doesn’t care about the attention. It doesn’t bother him. He’s not an introvert. But he doesn’t want extra attention over and above his teammates, and he doesn’t seek it out.
“I think what you find in a place like Wisconsin and with coach Fickell is stability. You find tradition. You find culture. Those things mean a lot to him. He’s not trying to come to a big city and make millions and be front and center L.A. superstar. He wants to come into a gritty program and be one of the guys and help that team win and get to the next level.”
Let’s Work!🦡@CoachFick @CoachRodeBV @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/zE7jDww3Nj
— Carter Smith (@_CarterSmith9) November 24, 2024
The story of Smith’s commitment to Wisconsin cannot be told without his de-commitment from Michigan. Rode said Smith wasn’t afraid of competition but was upset about what he considered a lack of truthfulness. The Wolverines under first-year head coach Sherrone Moore shifted their NIL strategy to make a significant push for Underwood in recent weeks — a departure from the approach taken under Jim Harbaugh, whom Smith committed to originally. Underwood flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan on Thursday. The Athletic reported Underwood is in position to earn more than $10 million from multi-year NIL agreements while at Michigan.
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That situation opened the door for Wisconsin at a time when its future at quarterback and on offense are in flux. Wisconsin reached out to Smith soon after his decommitment and set up a visit for the game against No. 1 Oregon last week at Camp Randall Stadium. The atmosphere was electric. And the vision Fickell had for Smith was appealing. Fickell made comparisons between Smith and Desmond Ridder, who finished his career at Cincinnati with school records for total yards, touchdown passes and rushing touchdowns and led the Bearcats in 2021 to the College Football Playoff.
“Even though it was a short period of time, it was easy to see what direction they’re going in, who they are, how they’re going to handle their business,” Dan said. “They were very upfront and honest with us. Coming from what Michigan did to him, I think that weighed a lot is that he could trust coach Fickell for sure.”
Smith was supposed to visit Florida State for its regular-season finale against Florida but canceled the trip. Smith wore a white towel with a red motion W logo tucked into his jersey for his home playoff game Friday night, and “Jump Around” played over the loudspeakers during the game.
What Wisconsin is getting in Smith, according to Rode, is a quarterback who “plays with a linebacker mentality.” Smith, 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds has passed for more than 8,700 yards with 87 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his four-year varsity career. He earned Gatorade Player of the Year honors in Florida as a junior when he completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2,223 yards, 29 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Smith’s running ability and toughness stand out. He has amassed more than 2,600 yards rushing and 56 touchdowns on the ground and Rode said Smith often seeks out contact. Smith has broken all-time records in his county for career passing yards, rushing yards by a quarterback and total touchdowns.
Smith is in the midst of a playoff run in which he is battling an AC joint injury in his shoulder that kept him out for two games earlier this season. He aggravated the injury and left a first-round playoff game two Fridays ago. But with his team trailing at halftime, Smith refused to watch the remainder of the game from the sideline. Even without the ability to throw well, he ran for 118 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 12-yard run in the fourth quarter. Rode acknowledged that some of Smith’s approach may have to change against bigger, stronger defenses in college but his mobility makes him a dangerous threat.
“He tells our OC down here, ‘Don’t throw a pass on the first play, let me run so I can get my blood flowing, go hit somebody,’” Dan said.
Smith also generated interest from scouts in baseball. He was ranked as the No. 1 shortstop in the country for his age group by Perfect Game three years ago and has a fastball that has reached 91 mph. His dad spent seven years in the Atlanta Braves farm system as a pitcher. But Smith devoted his attention to football after his freshman year.
With Smith now in the fold at Wisconsin, the biggest question centers on who his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach will be. Fickell fired Phil Longo last Sunday, just hours after Smith and his dad met with the two of them at the end of their trip to Madison. While that situation had the potential to derail the recruitment, Smith’s dad said Fickell told them they needed to trust him in this process. Fickell is likely to move forward with more of a power-spread approach that emphasizes the run and utilizes a mobile quarterback who can throw.
“He was like, ‘I want to include you in this and be a part of this decision,’” Dan said. “In this stage of the game, it is kind of tough because Carter will be spending a lot of time with the OC. But that’s just something I think he did truly trust coach Fickell was going to get somebody great in there.”
Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class includes eight four-star 247Sports Composite commits, giving the Badgers 19 four-star prospects in the last two recruiting cycles under Fickell. Smith becomes the second quarterback committed in the class, joining three-star prospect Landyn Locke. But what the quarterback room looks like next season remains a mystery.
Both Locke and his older brother, Braedyn, pledged to the program to play for Longo. Braedyn’s play has been uneven in 11 games as the starter, while Landyn is coming off a season-ending torn ACL, as is Tyler Van Dyke. Cole LaCrue plans to enter the transfer portal, and freshman Mabrey Mettauer has played just 16 snaps in three games this season.
Smith figures to be a huge part of the future for Fickell. And Smith’s private quarterbacks coach, Ken Mastrole, said Smith has all the traits necessary to play early in college.
“A lot of these guys have the physical tools, but it’s like, ‘Are they ready mentally?’” Mastrole said. “The lights get bigger than they need to be with everything going a lot faster. But I think he’s kind of groomed for that. He’ll be a very mature freshman who’s not going to go in there and be overwhelmed by things. Plus, there’s definitely more of a chip on his shoulder now the way things transpired.”
(Photo courtesy of Bishop Verot High School)
