Michigan QB Bryce Underwood issues bold warning to Ohio State super fan LeBron James after his flip from LSU

LeBron James is about as big an Ohio State fan as it gets. The LA Lakers superstar recently bumped into Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, who flipped to the Wolverines after being committed to Brian Kelly and LSU.

It seems Underwood has a pretty solid grasp on how to feel about the Buckeyes.

"And then I said, 'Before all this started, just had to let you know, I go to Michigan,'" Underwood said Wednesday on "The Rich Eisen Show" of his interaction with LeBron. "He was like, 'Oh yeah.' Yeah, it's over for Ohio State. ... He laughed it off a little bit."

Michigan beat Ohio State 13-10 on the road last season, keeping the Buckeyes from reaching the Big 10 championship game, which Oregon and Penn State wound up playing in.

Diving into Ohio State's rivalry with Michigan and Bryce Underwood's arrival

Ohio State's loss against Michigan last season — its fourth in a row in the bitter series — can be considered the turning point of the Buckeyes' season. Ryan Day's team came together afterward and powered through the College Football Playoff to a national title. It was a stark contrast from the scene of Jack Sawyer taking the Wolverines' flag in a somber Ohio Stadium.

Former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN broadcaster and analyst Kirk Herbstreit explained how that heartbreaking situation boosted the Buckeyes.

"I almost feel like in a weird way – as Ohio State people, it's weird to say – 'That it was a good thing to lose to Michigan,'" Herbstreit said in January. "But I do think that the loss to Michigan and the reaction from the media and from some of the fans brought them together. They were either going to crack and fall apart (or) they were gonna come together more.

"When they came out of that locker room at a home game and they saw whatever it was — 30-40,000 — whatever the estimate was of (Tennessee Volunteers) orange in their own stadium, it became even more of a 'us against them' — them meaning anybody outside of that locker room."

Underwood joins the rivalry as 247Sports' No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2025. Andrew Ivins, a director of scouting for that recruiting service, has high praise for the now-former Belleville (Mich.) High School star. He believes Underwood will be a multi-year impact player for Sherrone Moore's program, which could emerge as a College Football Playoff contender with him under center.

"Might need a semester or two to find his footing, but ability to hunt big plays and distribute on the move could be hard to keep off the field even if he's still learning how to dissect complex defenses," Ivins wrote.