Kyle Whittingham stepped into a tough position when he took over at Michigan. He was tasked with rebuilding a program that went from a National Championship two years ago to struggling to become bowl-eligible, and on the recruiting trail.
If there is one thing Whittingham is good at, it is bringing in the most undervalued prospects and making them into star players. He did it at Utah, and there is hope he can do it now at Michigan. Looking at his first class with the Wolverines, it certainly isn't something to scoff at, having a Top 10 class according to the Rivals rankings, but two things stand out. One, Whittingham didn't land a single five-star recruit, and two, he struggled with in-state recruiting.
Whittingham struggled to keep Michigan native within state lines, with his biggest miss being wide receiver Dakota Guerrant, considered a 5-star guy by the industry rankings. He is now officially a five-star recruit by Rivals' newest rankings, going from the No. 46 prospect to No. 22.
🚨NEW🚨 Oregon WR commit Dakota Guerrant ranks No. 22 and 5-stars in the updated 2027 Rivals300.https://t.co/GCExul6lkb pic.twitter.com/igBz5ij8me
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 13, 2026
Guerrant didn't just scorn Michigan by choosing just any other school; he committed to Oregon, a new Big Ten rival that Michigan has to face. Guerrant grew up in Harper Woods, Michigan, less than an hour drive from Ann Arbor, and instead of staying close to home, he is moving states away for his college career. The new five-star rating now twists the knife further on Whittingham's miss.
Kyle Whittingham's in-state recruiting game has to strengthen in the next cycle
If there is one thing Whittingham will have to improve upon to keep Michigan fans happy, it is in-state recruiting. Being able to keep hometown guys within state lines is a must, and so far, it has been a lot of swings and misses from the new Michigan man.
Guerrant isn't the only miss Whittingham had in his first recruiting cycle with the Wolverines. Another big miss was three-star wide receiver Trey Britton. Now, some may wonder why a three-star recruit is such a big miss, but when he visited Ann Arbor eight times over his recruitment, Whittingham should have been able to lock down the commitment.
Keeping guys close to home should be an easy task for coaches, especially when that can be the biggest selling point, but Whittingham just hasn't mastered that tactic, even this far in his coaching career.
There are already some reports that Whittingham is well on the way to losing out on his first five-star in-state recruit in the Class of 2028. Donald Tabron II, a five-star quarterback in the 2028 class, has made a few visits to Ann Arbor but is already predicted to land with Texas A&M, according to the Rivals Composite Industry predictions.
Tabron is a Detroit native, so not too far from Ann Arbor, marking this as another potential in-state recruiting loss and another loss to Texas A&M on the trail. There is still time for Whittingham to win over Tabron, but the odds are not in his favor.
Add us as a preferred source on Google