The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542609
FEBRUARY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 21 the staff right now, and most likely there will be a few faces that stay on and help bridge that," Whittingham said initially. "It's much easier to be in the staff room and meeting and say, 'Hey, I wonder how they do this here. If you've got a guy right there, that's been there, done that, that's a big help.'" It aided in the retention of several players. It should help, too, that some of the assistants have Midwest ties, in- cluding highly renowned offensive line coach Jim Harding. Most of the Utah players came from out West, but Whittingham won't be pigeonholed when it comes to landing players. "Michigan is going to cast a wide net recruiting coast to coast," he said. "I've got a lot of contacts, particularly out West, but also in Florida and Texas. We're going to have some coaches on the staff that have worked the ACC and out this way in the Midwest. "I think that might be overrated a little bit as far as where you come from geographically. I can tell you right now that we will have a staff that is very di- verse and has roots in many different places in the country. "A school like Michigan is going to recruit top athletes from the East Coast to the West Coast. We've got to be able to do it all." So far, they're off to a good start, hav- ing retained a good portion of the roster and the incoming recruiting class. That included running back Savion Hiter, the nation's top running back recruit, who was thrilled when the Wolverines kept Alford, his position coach and recruiter. Alford's late brother, Aaron, had coached for Whittingham at Utah from 2007-10, before his untimely death in 2013. Given the timing, the U-M support staff, including general manager Sean Magee, did an incredible job with the roster retention efforts. It's up to Whit- tingham and Co., now, to make the most of it, and the coach can't wait to give it a go. "It's been 30 years without signifi- cant changes. This change is a new challenge, a new opportunity. "I was a Michigan fan since I was 7 years old, and then I traded in [my fan- dom] for the Utah program," he said. "There were literally four or five schools in the country that I would listen to, to extend my career for at least five years. "I signed a five-year contract, and I'm excited about that. I'm not that old. I'm 66, but it's not that old. I feel like I've got enough energy and juice to see this through." Michigan is counting on it — and him — to get the program back where it's supposed to be, and he agrees. "You've got to get to the playoffs. That's our expectation," he said. "That's my expectation. The Big Ten champion- ship, obviously, will get you to the play- offs, but if you can get to that 10-win mark, that usually is a pretty good indi- cator that you will be in the playoffs. … "That's the bar. It's the University of Michigan — how can it be any different than that?" ❏ Whittingham was ranked No. 9 among active college football coaches by ESPN headed into last season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY