With Kyle Whittingham running point in Ann Arbor, expect for the Michigan Wolverines to look more like the teams he had at Utah. Under his direction, the Utes were always a big-time player in the transfer portal. Only this time, he has far better resources at his disposal. It is why he can now go big-game hunting for players who were on other college football blue-bloods like the Texas Longhorns.
Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported Michigan is the early favorite to land wide receiver Jaime Ffrench.
From @chris_hummer and me: Sources consider Michigan the early favorite with Texas wide receiver transfer Jaime Ffrench.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 9, 2026
Was a Class of 2025 blue-chip recruit. pic.twitter.com/NFineyxo1U
Ffrench was a four-star recruit out of Jacksonville prior to committing to play for Steve Sarkisian at Texas. He only played in four games this past season for the Longhorns, meaning he will have all four years of eligibility to work with here. Maybe he will play out the rest of his college football career for Whittingham at Michigan? Who could have seen this coming only a few months ago. This is so wild!
Should Ffrench end up transferring to Michigan, that could be a massive boost for Bryce Underwood.
How Jaime Ffrench could work playing for Michigan Wolverines here soon
The big thing we all have to remember with Whittingham is he took a BCS buster of a program in Utah and made it into a near-national power over the course of two decades. Utah had to navigate multiple conference changes in the wake of realignment. The passion has always been there, but very few things in the college football world compare to that of Michigan's resources. He is in for a real treat!
What is important to understand is Ffrench came into Austin with a lot of fanfare, but very little production. How often do you see Ffrench spelled with two F's, to be totally honest? The other thing to monitor is Ffrench would be leaving an offensive-minded head coach in Sarkisian to come play for a defensive-minded one in Whittingham. He is leaving one BYU alum to potentially play for another...
In the end, Whittingham is really trying to land the best receivers he can find in the portal to help bring along Underwood. Michigan paid a lot of money to get him, and to retain him. Under his predecessor in Sherrone Moore, the Wolverines' offense could not be more conservative. Whittingham favors the other side of the ball, but all of his best Utah teams were able to play complementary under his watch.
Let's keep an eye on this player and see if he ends up doing what Zenitz and Chris Hummer suggest.