The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FEBRUARY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 29 seven years. In 2025, the tight ends reg- istered 88 receptions for 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns. Dalton Kincaid, one of Utah's four first-round picks in Kyle Whittingham's 21 seasons as the head coach, was se- lected No. 25 overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2023, after earning first-team All- Pac-12 honors in 2022. Kincaid is one of four all-conference standouts that Whittingham mentored. In addition to serving as tight ends coach, Whittingham became Utah's re- cruiting coordinator from 2016-25, fol- lowing four years as director of player personnel (2012-15). A Provo, Utah, native, Whittingham graduated with a psychology degree from BYU in 1992 and spent nearly two decades with the McGraw-Hill com- panies and Simon & Schuster as a sales and marketing executive in the higher education publishing industry. DEFENSIVE STAFF Whittingham tapped BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill to lead the U-M de- fense, and he brought Jernaro Gilford (cornerbacks) along with him. Lewis Powell (defensive ends/edges) is another former Utah assistant who knows the way Whittingham wants things done. The head coach's son, Alex Whittingham (linebackers), comes to the college ranks after eight years coaching in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs. Tyler Stockton joined after two strong seasons with Boise State. Lou Esposito (defensive line) was re- tained from the prior U-M staff. LEWIS POWELL, DEFENSIVE ENDS/EDGES Powell spent 11 years at Utah work- i n g u n d e r W h i t - t i n g h a m a n d 1 0 working with the d e fe n s ive l i n e , a position he played from 2001-03 with the Utes. In his first s ea s o n o n s ta f f, he coached the tight ends. Powell has coached two consensus All-Americans and seven first-team all-conference players during his time at Utah. Bradlee Anae (2019) and Jonah Elliss (2023) were named consensus All-Americans. This past season, John Henry Daley was a first-team Walter Camp All-American and a second-team selection by two other organizations. Powell's time at Utah saw the pro- gram consistently among the nation's top rush defenses with a top-30 na- tional rank in eight seasons, finishing first or second in the Pac-12 in 7 of those campaigns. The group was top-5 in the FBS on three occasions and top-20 in all of its final six seasons in the conference. ALEX WHITTINGHAM, LINEBACKERS The son of Kyle Whittingham and n e p h e w o f t i g h t ends coach Freddie Whittingham has b e e n pa r t o f t h e Kansas City Chiefs o rga n i z a t i o n f o r eight years, spend- ing two years as a defensive assistant (2018, 2024), five years as a defensive quality control coach (2019, 2020-23) and as the as- sistant defensive line coach this past season. He was part of five Super Bowl appearances and three cham- pionships, working with every posi- tion group during his time with the franchise. At Kansas City, he worked closely w i t h d e fe n s ive co o rd i n a to r S teve Spagnuolo, and the group was top-10 in points allowed in six of Whitting- ham's eight years on the staff, and top- six in each of his final three years with the organization. His coaching career came after playing at Utah for five sea- sons, where he contributed as a walk- on under his father and made 45 game appearances. JERNARO GILFORD, CORNERBACKS Gilford had been at BYU since 2016, coaching the cornerbacks and added the pass game coordinator title to his name this past season. Prior to that, he coached the secondary at Southern Utah (2014-15) and Whitter College, where he was a graduate assistant with cornerbacks and special teams from 2012-13. G i l fo rd h e l p e d the BYU second- ary to three seasons with a top-30 mark in passing yards al- lowed per game and four seasons with a top-30 rank in pass efficiency on de- fense. The BYU defensive backs produced 15-plus interceptions and a top-20 na- tional mark in that category six times, including each of the last three seasons. The 2024 Cougars led the nation with 22 picks and 29 total turnovers forced, which was tied for third in the FBS. Twelve different players recorded an interception, which was the top mark in the country. Gilford was a 37-game performer and 28-game starter as a collegiate player at BYU with 10 career interceptions and earned first-team All-Mountain West honors in 2001. TYLER STOCKTON, SAFETIES S to c k to n s p e n t the last two seasons under head coach S p e n c e r Da n i e l - son at Boise State, making the College Fo o t b a l l P l a yo f f with the Broncos in 2024. B e f o r e t h a t , Stockton was the defensive coordina- tor at Ball State, where he was a Broyles Award nominee in 2020, 2022 and 2023. In 2021, Stockton was named to the American Football Coaches Associa- tion's 35 Under 35 list. Throughout his college coaching career, he has worked with the defensive line, outside line- backers, inside linebackers and safeties, making him one of the most versatile defensive assistants in the country. Stockton made the move to Ball State in 2019 after three years at Western Il- linois and got his start in coaching at UConn as a defensive grad assistant in 2014-15. He graduated from Notre Dame, where he played on the defensive line from 2009-13 and helped the Irish reach the 2013 BCS National Champi- onship Game. ❏