The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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160 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW INSIDE MICHIGAN CHRIS BALAS Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @Balas _ Wolverine. T here was one thing you never worried about when guys like Bo Schembechler and Lloyd Carr were running the show in Ann Arbor: The culture. No program is or has ever been perfect, of course. Schembechler's Michigan, though, earned the respect of not just the coaches in the Big Ten, but also his peers around the country. There wasn't a hint of scan- dal, no "in the news for the wrong reasons" or bending of the rules. Gray areas? Forget it. Not even light pearl. Not only did he not cross any lines, but Schembechler was so far from those lines he'd have needed a cab to get there. To him, "Only Fans" simply meant an afternoon at the golf course with high paying donors (Old-timers, Google it if you don't get it. On second thought … don't. Maybe ask your grandson). As for Carr, when the Wolverines won a national title in 1997, many around the country expressed their admiration that a program that did it "the right way" was able to reach the pinnacle. So, yeah — the last several years have been tough, even with the Big Ten titles and 2023 national championship. While it was clear the Jim Harbaugh allega- tions were overblown, and we'd never — never — give back what were some special years, there was a stretch when we'd wake up in the morning and hold our breath before we read the morning news. Last year was the lowest of the low points, and we don't need to revisit it. It was clear, though, that the Michigan fan- base needed a hero to recapture the moral high ground they once occupied. Enter Kyle Whittingham, replacing Sherrone Moore. When we say he's cut from the same cloth as Schembechler and Carr, we mean the same section of the same roll. Forget about the scandalous. As one colleague quipped following his hiring, "Thank God — he follows five women on social media, and they're all members of his family." When new Michigan defensive coordi- nator Jay Hill, a longtime Whittingham disciple as a player and an assistant, told us he thought "Whitt" was "just what Michigan needed," we couldn't have agreed more. "The 'Michigan Man' persona … I've been studying up on it and all the tradi- tion," Whittingham said on the "Wake Up Barstool" show. "I've been a Michigan fan forever, since I was 7 years old. I watched the Michigan-Ohio State game, watched those winged helmets come out of the tunnel, Bo versus Woody [Hayes]. I was intrigued from that point on. I've been following Michigan for a lot of years. "I'm excited to quell the drama, I guess you can say, and get things back on track … have it be all about football, what we're going to accomplish on the field. I think the players are eager to do that, too." Whittingham admitted pleasant sur- prise at the four- and five-star talents he inherited, not sure what to expect. There were no prima don- nas or guys with entitle- ment — just a group of kids who wanted the program's perception back to what was promised when they were recruited. He had strength coach Doug Elisaia work them hard, and Whittingham and his staff coached them even harder. And the players loved ev- ery minute of it. "I truly think this is one of the closer teams we've had, and we haven't even been with each other that long," junior running back Jo rd a n M a rs h a l l sa i d i n mid-June. "I think the guys are really just excited about the process and know the chance we have as a team. "When we have guys like [senior Utah cornerback transfer] Smith Snowden coming up and saying, 'Wow, we're close' — this feels different." And how it's supposed to feel at Mich- igan. We took it for granted when Carr, the first coach some of us covered at U-M, was in charge that it would always be that way. That Whittingham made it a point to meet with him after he was hired was another positive in a plethora of them since his hiring. "What a guy," Whittingham said. "He's just a tremendous human being — sharp, funny. I just really enjoyed my conversation with him." Word from the Carr camp was the former U-M patriarch was equally im- pressed with Whittingham. That stamp of approval may not mean much to the younger generation, but for us veterans, it's everything. It feels like the old guard is back in charge of Michigan football, and that's about the highest compliment we can pay. ❏ Michigan Finally Feels Like Michigan Again Head coach Kyle Whittingham said he's "excited to quell the drama … get things back on track … have it be all about football, what we're going to accomplish on the field. I think the players are eager to do that, too." PHOTO BY TY KORNBLUE