The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 97 added three players familiar with the system. Though Hill co- ordinated the defense at BYU a year ago, he learned the defense and terminology up the road under Whittingham, making it an easier transition. "They've definitely helped a lot," Bowles said. "I feel like every guy that's come from over there has been helping their specific position group, and even with stuff with the warm-up and how they do things, how they run things. "It's still new terminology. I feel like it's going to be that way with any new playbook coming in, but it's still football at the end of the day." And a fun defense to play in, he added. As long as the tackles do their job — and they were all about it this spring — the guys in the middle should be in great position to do theirs. "I feel like this defense frees up the linebackers. We're getting a little bit more to the perimeter, so the safeties and the corners can make a lot more plays, too," Bowles said. Overall, they're right where they need to be, Whittingham said after spring, on schedule with several months to go before the opener. "We're not where we want to be, but we're in a very great spot," Bowles said. "You can see physicality going on. If we clean up the little things, we'll be good. As long as guys are flying around, being physical, you can't ask for much more right now." Bowles did his part this spring, and he's ready to prove he's the player everyone expected him to be. The Michigan defense might depend on it, and he wouldn't have it any other way. ❑ Apple Didn't Fall Far From The Tree With Alex Whittingham Sons of elite coaches have been hit or miss over the years. There's no guarantee they'll have the level of success of their fathers. Many do, of course — in the NFL, Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco, son of longtime coach Mike), former NFL coaches Wade and Bum Phillips, and closer to home, Jay Harbaugh (Seattle assistant, son of former U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh) come to mind — and Michigan fans are hoping the same will be true of new linebackers coach Alex Whittingham. Early returns on first-year coach Kyle Whittingham's son have been extremely positive. After eight years with the Kansas City Chiefs, the 34-year-old will get his second shot at coaching a position group with the Michigan linebackers. "I like him a lot," Michigan senior linebacker Troy Bowles said. "You could tell he came from the League. He's teaching us. … We watch a lot of Chiefs tape because that's where he came from. We've been watching Chiefs linebackers Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill, and that's been teaching us a lot." Whittingham played for his father at Utah from 2013 to 2017, join- ing the team as a walk-on and excelling on special teams. He joined Chiefs head coach Andy Reid's staff in 2018 and has served a variety of roles under Steve Spagnuolo, one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, including two as a defensive assistant (2018, 2024). He also served five years as a defensive quality control coach (2019, 2020- 23), was the assistant defensive line coach for the 2025 season, and spent his first year working with the outside linebackers before transi- tioning to the D-line room in 2019. The Chiefs went to five Super Bowls in his eight years with the franchise, including the organi- zation's titles in 2020, 2023, and 2024. While having an elite quar- terback in Patrick Mahomes is obvi- ously huge, the defense also played a big part. The Kansas City group was top 10 in scoring defense in six of Whittingham's eight years on staff, including a top-six mark in each of its final three seasons. In addition to Bolton and Tran- quill, Whittingham worked with standouts like Chris Jones, former Wolverine Frank Clark, Dee Ford, Willie Gay, Justin Houston, and oth- ers. Playing for his dad and working in that NFL environment helped shape him, and it's shown at U-M. Both Whittingham and his dad are stick- lers for detail, as the players found out quickly. "It's definitely a little bit of an ad- justment in a structure standpoint, but I feel like it's definitely really good for us," Bowles said. "We've been honing in on the details with Coach Whittingham. We do a lot more with the strength and conditioning staff. I think it's been great for us." — Chris Balas Bowles (shown with linebackers coach Alex Whittingham) has developed into a more vocal leader on and off the field in his second year at Michi- gan. The 2023 Rivals Industry Ranking listed him as the No. 88 player and No. 7 linebacker in the nation, and the No. 21 prospect in Florida coming out of Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL