ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Tuesday brought several firsts for Kyle Whittingham: his first time behind the lectern at Schembechler Hall, his first practice at Michigan and a symbolic first step in the Wolverines’ 2026 season.

For Whittingham, this is the time to get to work, not to be sentimental. He was Utah’s head coach for 21 seasons, so he’s done this many times. He’s in a different place, wearing different colors and coaching different players, but otherwise it’s all the same.

“Football is football, no matter where you are,” Whittingham said. “The game is not that different. In that regard, I don’t expect something to overwhelm me or overcome me.”

Whittingham has had nearly three months to acclimate since his whirlwind hiring in late December. Nothing about the job has surprised him so far, he said. Similarly, Whittingham has been exactly the coach Michigan fans thought they were getting: a rock-steady presence who’s more substance than flash and a coach whose philosophy was built over decades.

“We’re going to be a physical football team,” Whittingham said. “We want that to be our trademark.”

Here are five takeaways from Whittingham as Michigan opens spring practice.

Whittingham’s expectation: Win now

Whittingham took over a team that won nine games despite well-documented internal dysfunction that culminated in the firing of coach Sherrone Moore. If the Wolverines could go 9-3 with a flailing head coach and a freshman quarterback, how many games can they win with Whittingham coaching Bryce Underwood as a second-year starter?

That’s not a question Whittingham can answer right now, but he’s not backing away from high expectations.

“I would expect that Michigan would challenge for the Big Ten title every single year,” Whittingham said. “That should be a given. Every single year you should be in the hunt.”

The Wolverines have a top-15 roster, give or take a few spots in either direction. The big unknown is how quickly the players will adapt to Whittingham and the schemes brought in by his coordinators, Jason Beck on offense and Jay Hill on defense.

Whittingham wants his offense and defense to be simple enough that players can learn the schemes in a single offseason. He made that change several years ago at Utah as roster turnover became a bigger part of college football, and it should help with the learning curve in his first spring at Michigan.

“You can’t have a scheme on either side of the ball that takes a year or two to learn,” Whittingham said. “You don’t have that luxury. I don’t want to say we’ve dumbed things down, but we’ve simplified things.”

Underwood is QB1

There’s no spring quarterback battle at Michigan. Underwood is Michigan’s “QB1 without a doubt,” Whittingham said, which comes as no surprise. Whittingham has spoken highly of Underwood from the day he was hired, and Michigan’s quarterback moves in the transfer portal were all about building depth, not about bringing in a player who could challenge Underwood for the job.

“Last year, I thought he got a pretty good start relative to the circumstances in college football,” Whittingham said. “He just barely turned 18 and was the starting quarterback at a major Power 4 football team. I think he handled it fairly well. A lot of room for improvement. He knows that. We know that. He now has some dedicated guys quarterback-wise that are working directly with him, and we’ll see what kind of progress we can make in these next 15 practices.”

Underwood completed 60 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in an up-and-down freshman season. In addition to Beck, who has a background working with quarterbacks, Michigan hired Koy Detmer Jr. to develop Underwood and the rest of Michigan’s quarterbacks.

The depth chart behind Underwood is in flux, and it’s likely to stay that way through the spring and beyond. The Wolverines have five quarterbacks on campus this spring: Underwood, second-year player Chase Herbstreit, LSU transfer Colin Hurley and freshmen Tommy Carr and Brady Smigiel, who is recovering from a knee injury. The Wolverines also signed Colorado State transfer Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, who is expected to arrive in the summer.

“Tommy Carr is doing a nice job,” said Whittingham of the Class of 2025 signee who is the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and brother of Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr. “He’s probably the one that stands out so far. Nothing’s been set in stone, obviously, but based on what we’ve seen to this point, Tommy has looked like he’s got a good skill set.”

The door is open for Michigan’s freshmen

Whittingham has described Utah as a developmental program where players needed a year or two to shape themselves into contributors. When Whittingham evaluated Michigan’s 2026 recruiting class, he saw players who were talented enough to contribute right away.

“These guys are more ready-made, I can tell you that,” Whittingham said.

The first freshman Whittingham mentioned was five-star running back Savion Hiter, the No. 12 prospect in the Rivals industry consensus for the Class of 2026. Jordan Marshall is returning as Michigan’s lead back, but with Justice Haynes transferring to Georgia Tech, Michigan should have carries up for grabs. Hiter could be a candidate for early playing time, as could wide receiver Salesi Moa, a top-100 prospect who followed Whittingham to Michigan after originally signing with Utah.

“A lot of those guys are going to help out right away,” Whittingham said. “The tailback, Savion Hiter, is special. There’s another handful of guys that we think in that freshman class are going to be major contributors for us right away. We didn’t have that luxury at Utah very often.”

Michigan won’t rush its top portal addition

Edge rusher John Henry Daley, who ranked in the top 10 in the FBS in sacks and tackles for loss last year at Utah, was one of the most impactful players in the transfer portal. Michigan won’t get the full effect of Daley’s arrival this spring, as he’s still recovering from an injury that ended his season prematurely.

Other players who won’t be full-go this spring include safety Rod Moore and offensive tackle Andrew Babalola. Moore, back for a sixth season at Michigan, has appeared in three games over the past two years while recovering from a pair of knee surgeries. Babalola, a five-star prospect from the Class of 2025, tore his ACL in preseason camp last year and missed his entire freshman season.

“They probably will not be available for spring,” Whittingham said, asked about those three players. “One or two might have some limited action, but very, very limited. We’re just trying to get them to the season healthy. They’re proven commodities. We know what they can do.”

Whittingham in ‘lockstep’ with new GM

One of Whittingham’s recent moves was the hiring of Dave Peloquin, the longtime director of player personnel at Notre Dame, as Michigan’s new general manager, replacing Sean Magee.

Peloquin spent more than two decades at Notre Dame in various roles and came to Michigan after a brief stint with Athletes First, where he was general manager of the agency’s collegiate NIL division.

“It’s a critical hire,” Whittingham said. “The GM is one of the linchpins of your program, and we are absolutely on the same page. Dave is a completely meticulous, thorough, organized individual, and that’s what you have to be in recruiting.”

Whittingham said Peloquin has assembled a “really good supporting cast” in Michigan’s recruiting department with one or two positions yet to be filled. With players arriving on campus for spring visits, the Wolverines will try to build momentum for their 2027 recruiting class, which currently stands at three commitments.

“Even though we’re not as far along as some schools, you really look at the bottom line when you’re finished, what you came away with,” Whittingham said. “We think we’re going to be OK in that regard.”