ANN ARBOR, Mich. \u2014 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\u2019 2026 season.<\/p>\n
For Whittingham, this is the time to get to work, not to be sentimental. He was Utah\u2019s head coach for 21 seasons, so he\u2019s done this many times. He\u2019s in a different place, wearing different colors and coaching different players, but otherwise it\u2019s all the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball is football, no matter where you are,\u201d Whittingham said. \u201cThe game is not that different. In that regard, I don\u2019t expect something to overwhelm me or overcome me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s more substance than flash and a coach whose philosophy was built over decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to be a physical football team,\u201d Whittingham said. \u201cWe want that to be our trademark.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are five takeaways from Whittingham as Michigan opens spring practice.<\/p>\n
Whittingham\u2019s expectation: Win now<\/p>\n
Whittingham took over a team that won nine games despite well-documented internal dysfunction<\/a> 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?<\/p>\n That\u2019s not a question Whittingham can answer right now, but he\u2019s not backing away from high expectations.<\/p>\n \u201cI would expect that Michigan would challenge for the Big Ten title every single year,\u201d Whittingham said. \u201cThat should be a given. Every single year you should be in the hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t have a scheme on either side of the ball that takes a year or two to learn,\u201d Whittingham said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have that luxury. I don\u2019t want to say we\u2019ve dumbed things down, but we\u2019ve simplified things.\u201d<\/p>\n Underwood is QB1<\/p>\n There\u2019s no spring quarterback battle at Michigan. Underwood is Michigan\u2019s \u201cQB1 without a doubt,\u201d Whittingham said, which comes as no surprise. Whittingham has spoken highly of Underwood from the day he was hired, and Michigan\u2019s quarterback moves in the transfer portal were all about building depth, not about bringing in a player who could challenge Underwood for the job.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year, I thought he got a pretty good start relative to the circumstances in college football,\u201d Whittingham said. \u201cHe 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\u2019ll see what kind of progress we can make in these next 15 practices.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s quarterbacks.<\/p>\n The depth chart behind Underwood is in flux, and it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cTommy Carr is doing a nice job,\u201d 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. \u201cHe\u2019s probably the one that stands out so far. Nothing\u2019s been set in stone, obviously, but based on what we\u2019ve seen to this point, Tommy has looked like he\u2019s got a good skill set.\u201d<\/p>\n The door is open for Michigan\u2019s freshmen<\/p>\n Whittingham has described Utah as a developmental program where players needed a year or two to shape themselves into contributors. When Whittingham evaluated Michigan\u2019s 2026 recruiting class, he saw players who were talented enough to contribute right away.<\/p>\n \u201cThese guys are more ready-made, I can tell you that,\u201d Whittingham said.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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>, a top-100 prospect who followed Whittingham to Michigan after originally signing with Utah.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of those guys are going to help out right away,\u201d Whittingham said. \u201cThe tailback, Savion Hiter, is special. There\u2019s another handful of guys that we think in that freshman class are going to be major contributors for us right away. We didn\u2019t have that luxury at Utah very often.\u201d<\/p>\n Michigan won\u2019t rush its top portal addition<\/p>\n 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\u2019t get the full effect of Daley\u2019s arrival this spring, as he\u2019s still recovering from an injury that ended his season prematurely.<\/p>\n Other players who won\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThey probably will not be available for spring,\u201d Whittingham said, asked about those three players. \u201cOne or two might have some limited action, but very, very limited. We\u2019re just trying to get them to the season healthy. They\u2019re proven commodities. We know what they can do.\u201d<\/p>\n Whittingham in \u2018lockstep\u2019 with new GM<\/p>\n