Whittingham’s World: Michigan Football Heads Into 2026 With Something to Prove

The Sherrone Moore era is a distant memory. The offseason chaos, the headlines, the losing, tainting the legacy of the program. Michigan football is hitting the reset button, and it starts with Kyle Whittingham.

Hired in December 2025, Whittingham wasted no time making his presence felt in Ann Arbor. The former Utah head coach came in with a clear vision: steady the ship, build a culture, and get back to winning football. He hit the transfer portal hard early, landing an incoming class that ESPN ranked tenth in the country. We all know that class rankings mean nothing, but let us have some joy, ok?! He brought most of his trusted staff from Utah with him, while keeping familiar faces like running backs coach Tony Alford and special teams coordinator Kerry Combs to maintain some continuity. He overhauled the weight room program under what he called one of the best strength coaches in the country, Doug Elisaia, and reports out of spring ball indicated strength numbers across the roster were up significantly. If you played football, you know improvements are made in the weight room, especially for those late fall Big Ten battles.

He even leaned into the legacy. Whittingham has referenced Bo Schembechler’s leadership philosophies publicly, saying there are more similarities than differences between what Bo preached and what he tried to build. For a Michigan fanbase, and people like ME starving for that kind of identity again, those words carried weight.

Spring ball gave the program its first real look at what Whittingham’s Michigan could be —and it was mostly encouraging. The defensive line and running back room emerged as early strengths, with Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter leading a deep backfield. The wide receiver room looks legitimately stacked, with Andrew Marsh, JJ Buchanan, Jaime Ffrench, and true freshman Salesi Moa forming a top group that had, in Whittingham’s own words, “really good springs.” A new GM in Dave Peloquin rounds out what feels like a front-to-back organizational rebuild.

But summer doesn’t arrive without questions, and Michigan has plenty heading into fall camp.

Can Bryce Underwood leap?

Everything runs through him. The five-star freshman showed flashes in 2025 but also showed his age operating without a dedicated QB coach, which was INSANE in a system that lacked structure. That changes in 2026. With Jason Beck calling plays and Koy Detmer Jr. working with him daily, Whittingham said Underwood has made “definite” progress in footwork and decision-making this spring. The ceiling is sky-high. The question is whether it shows up in September. Without a major leap from #19, things will be ugly. It was not all bad at all last season.

The highs were real: Underwood broke Michigan’s freshman passing record with 251 yards in his debut, averaged 12 yards per completion (top tier in the Big Ten), and added 392 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. The lows were just as real, with a 60.3% completion rate, 7 interceptions, and a 63-yard performance against Ohio State when it mattered most. A memory I haven’t forgotten, and most fans haven’t either.

But context matters. Per CBS Sports, Underwood was the second-unluckiest QB in the country in 2025. Is that a real stat? His pass catchers dropped 28 passes as a unit, a number that buried his completion percentage. He also faced pressure on 127 of 399 drop-backs, completing just 43.4% of passes under duress. The offensive line didn’t protect him. The coaching staff didn’t develop him. He was essentially left to figure it out on his own. Having adults in charge should fix a lot of these errors that left him high and dry.

Year 2 looks nothing like Year 1. Whittingham brought in QB coach Koy Detmer Jr. and OC Jason Beck, whose Utah offense was built around dual-threat QB Devon Dampier, a blueprint that fits Underwood perfectly. Beck has already said he’ll design the offense around what Underwood does best, and Whittingham confirmed post-spring that his footwork and pocket presence have improved in “all areas.” Michigan also retooled the receiver room specifically to help him, adding JJ Buchanan, who had just one drop at Utah last season, along with Jaime Ffrench and Salesi Moa. The Sporting News now ranks Underwood 23rd nationally heading into 2026, up two spots from a year ago. Who will emerge as the alpha receiver? And a QB’s best friend is a tight end, so who wants to be Bryce’s BFF?

The pieces are in place. Now Bryce has to deliver.

Who steps up at linebacker?

This is the biggest question mark on the defense. Michigan enters the season with limited returning experience at the position, and while Whittingham noted the young linebackers were “really taking steps forward” in spring, there’s a big difference between spring ball progress and holding up against Big Ten offenses in October. This could be a work-in-progress position where we see players step up all season. Or show that they are not quite ready for the bright lights. It will be up to the coaches to figure this out, and they won’t have a lot of time to do it.

How does the schedule play out?

Michigan opens with three non-conference home games before a brutal Big Ten slate that includes Oklahoma, Iowa, Penn State, and Indiana, all at The Big House, plus road trips to Oregon and Ohio State. There is no hiding. Whittingham’s program will be tested early and often, and how the Wolverines handle adversity will tell us everything about whether this rebuild is real or just a good offseason story.

Fall camp can’t come soon enough. Ann Arbor is ready. GO BLUE