The Michigan Wolverines hired Kyle Whittingham for a reason. The future hall-of-fame head coach put together a stellar career at Utah over in the Mountain Time Zone. While he did win a few Pac-12 championships there, Whittingham was never able to lead the Utes to the College Football Playoff. Michigan is of the belief Whittingham can be the head coach Sherrone Moore never amounted to...
So what Whittingham needs to do in year one is honestly assess the state of his roster, and go from there. ESPN's Jake Trotter viewed Michigan's running game as its big strength, with its dearth of pass catchers as a bit of a weakness. Michigan may have Bryce Underwood back for another season, but he will need all the help he can get from his savvy, defensive-minded head coach to elevate this year.
Despite losing former Alabama transfer Justice Haynes to his home state's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Michigan retains Jordan Marshall as its featured back. He nearly rushed for 1,000 yards a season ago. The Wolverines also were able to land the No. 2 running back recruit in the country in Savion Hiter in the 2026 recruiting class. Underwood has to trust Whittingham to right the ship here.
Let's now unpack why Whittingham is the right head coach to take advantage of this big opportunity.
Kyle Whittingham must lean on the ground game in year one at Michigan
Among the many reasons why Michigan hired Whittingham, he effectively coached at a lesser version of the same program for two years. Under his guidance, Utah was kind of akin to Michigan light under Whittingham. Whenever the Utes had a great ground game, a competent defense, and high-quality quarterback play, they usually were a force to be reckoned with. Whittingham had been Utah football.
Prior to Whittingham taking over, Michigan used the ground game effectively under both of his two previous predecessors. Moore was a former offensive lineman who loved to run the football. Jim Harbaugh was an old school quarterback who firmly understood the importance of having a competent ground game. In a way, Whittingham fits what Michigan's strengths are like a hand in glove.
Overall, Michigan fans should expect for Whittingham to put the ball more in Marshall's court even more so this year. Adding Hiter to the mix will certainly help as well in the ground game. His arrival in Ann Arbor may effectively offset losing Haynes to the transfer portal. What is important to know is that Underwood has to grow as a quarterback for Michigan to win enough games to make the playoff.
Fortunately for him, Whittingham has never worked with a quarterback as talented as Underwood.
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