The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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28 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY CHRIS BALAS A s a famous ad campaign goes, "Life comes at you fast." Two head coaches found that out last De- cember when Sherrone Moore was relieved of his duties as Michigan head coach and Kyle Whittingham, who many felt would be a lifer at Utah, found the opportunity of a lifetime at 66 years old and agreed to replace him. It was a stunning development in the college football world. But given the whis- pers of misconduct under Moore's regime (that were later verified) and the culture decline during the first two post-Jim Har- baugh years, it worked out about as well as it could have for the Wolverines. Whitting- ham kept the roster mostly intact, inherited a group of players he feels are hungry and dedicated, and provides a much-needed stability and level of respect to the pro- gram. "I'm a Buckeye, so my first thought was, 'What!?'" former Utah and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who once employed Whittingham as his defensive coordinator at Utah, said this spring. "He's my friend. Kyle and I are really close, and it didn't take long for me to put two and two together. Not only did I tell him that I think it was a great move, but it was exactly what that school in Ann Arbor needed. "They fell into the perfect guy." And after a productive spring, Whit- tingham believes his first Michigan team is right where it needs to be. "We're not where we need to be ulti- mately, but I think we're on track given that it's April 18th and we've got a lot of op- portunity ahead of us to get better," he said. "We saw the same thing last year at Utah. We had the same exact situation. … We installed an entire new offense, and I'd say we're right on par with where we need to be relative to what happened last year. We ended up with a really good offense last year, third or fourth in the nation in scoring and second in rushing. So, there's no panic at all. We feel like we're heading in the right direction." Here's our annual look at the Michigan team — impact players, biggest games, top position groups, and more — heading into the 2026 campaign. 2026 Season Preview 2026 Season Preview Kyle Whittingham, Year 1 — Talented Team, But Question Marks Kyle Whittingham, Year 1 — Talented Team, But Question Marks Head coach Kyle Whittingham, after address- ing his players at the end of the spring game, told the media that his first Michigan team is "on track" and "we've got a lot of opportu- nity ahead of us to get better." PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL