Kyle Whittingham is still building his Michigan football recruiting department, but on Tuesday, Whittingham made a head-turning move.
Michigan football was able to hire Skylar Phan, who played an essential role in the USC Trojans landing the No. 1 recruiting class in 2026. She was the director of recruiting strategy. It's unlcear exactly what her role will be, but it will surely be along those same lines.
This is according to Zach Shaw of The Michigan Insider.
"Tuesday afternoon, it was confirmed by The Michigan Insider on 247Sports that the Wolverines are hiring Skylar Phan to their front office. Phan was previously Director of Recruiting Strategy for USC, where she helped the Trojans sign the nation's No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 class, per 247Sports, compared to the No. 13 class in 2025, and No. 17 class in 2024," Shaw wrote.
Whittingham made some major changes recently, letting go of general manager Sean Magee and hiring former Notre Dame GM Dave Peloquin, and one of his first moves was to add Phan to the front office for Michigan football.
Steve Wiltfong from Rivals called her a "top off-field staffer" on X.
What latst front office move means for Michigan football
It feels like the Wolverines are positioning themselves to be one of the top programs in terms of adding top-tier talent. That means recruiting and the transfer portal. This is an innovative move, and it's one that should help Michigan yield similar results on the recruiting trail.
It also doubles down on the ties to the West Coast. There are plenty of those on this staff, both in the front office part, and the coaching staff.
Recruiting the West isn't anything new for Michigan. There will be more of fit, but the staff is building a national recruiting strategy, and so far, it's a sign that Whittingham has become a man of the times.