Michigan
Kyle Whittingham knows what Michigan football needs
Kyle Whittingham says appeal of Michigan football job was obvious
New Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham said the appeal of the job was obvious on Sunday, Dec. 28, in Orlando.
Michigan football is primed to win now, new coach Kyle Whittingham said this week on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
The Wolverines have made far too many headlines off the field, which is why Whittingham told Patrick the organization needs to simply get back to focusing on the reason they’re all together as a team − football.
“The place doesn’t need a rebuild, it needs a reboot of trust and getting rid of the drama and just get back to playing Michigan football without all the distractions,” Whittingham said. “It didn’t come from the players. The players were not involved. It was not some player issue – it was just the peripheral.
“Guys here have a great attitude, I met with everyone of them last week at the bowl site. Quality young men, care about academics, excited to be at Michigan, but they’ve dealt with a lot over the last few years.”
Whittingham, 66, takes over as the 22nd head coach in program history after a pair of scandals rocked the previous two men who held his job.
Jim Harbaugh led the Wolverines from 2015-23 − and left on top by winning a national championship − but also was found to have a lack of institutional control in his program by NCAA investigators after two separate NCAA violations occurred under his watch: impermissible recruiting and illegal sign-stealing.
More recently, Sherrone Moore was fired in scandal after he was found to have had a relationship with a subordinate and was subsequently arrested after he allegedly went to her house and threatened his own life − he was jailed for two nights and charged with felony home invasion, misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor breaking and entering.
Patrick asked if there was any selling point Whittingham needed to hear specifically from Michigan. Whittingham said when he stepped away from Utah in mid-December there were only a handful of program’s he would have even entertained. He called Michigan “a special place.”
“Needed to hear that Michigan was what I thought it was,” he said. “Hey’re committed to winning here, we do have some challenges with entrance requirements, there is a little bit of a hurdle there, but talk about athletes, resources, tradition − it’s all here at Michigan.”
Whittingham also quipped about the irony of previously being a team that wore red (Utah) whose primary rival wore blue (BYU) to flipping that. It’s also not lost on him that his mentor, Urban Meyer, went 7-0 against Michigan in his tenure in Columbus − Whittingham joked at his opening press conference that Meyer’s name alone might be considered a “four-letter word” in Ann Arbor.
“Blue was our rival at Utah for years,” he said. “Now I’ve got to get used to saying, ‘Go Blue.’”
Whittingham is in the throes of one of the busiest times on the college football calendar. The transfer portal opened for a 15-day window Jan. 2-16, setting off a scramble to both retain players, scout the database and find appropriate fits for the team.
Whittingham has only known his roster and coaches for approximately 10 days – he said while down in Florida he was going to “lock himself” in a room at Schembechler Hall in Ann Arbor to watch film on the players on his roster. He has been able to keep Bryce Underwood, Andrew Marsh, Andrew Babalola, Blake Frazier, Evan Link, Jake Guarnera and Zeke Berry − the last two of whom had put their names in the transfer portal before indicating their return to U-M for 2026.
With money flowing, back-channeling frequent and poaching at an all-time high, Whittingham doesn’t see college football’s current model as something that will last as currently constructed for more than a handful of years.
“It is not sustainable, there’s no question about that,” Whittingham said. “Something’s gotta give. Within a 2- to 4-, 5-year window, you’re going to see a major overhaul of Division I football. I think it’s going to become more of a minor league NFL model. I think you’re gonna see a salary cap, collective bargaining, players as employees.
“I think all that’s coming because we cannot maintain this pace.”
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
New defensive coordinator Jay Hill comes to Michigan by way of BYU, and the Cougars’ defense was a big part of their success last year. They had the No. 5 red zone defense in the country, and were in the top-10 for interceptions and defensive touchdowns.
Hill’s defense appears to run through the secondary, which is good news for the Wolverines given the experience they’re bringing back. Veterans Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry return, while senior Smith Snowden transferred over from Utah. Young players Jo’Ziah Edmond and Shamari Earls both have a shot at taking leaps forward this fall.
Then there’s the safety group. Juniors Mason Curtis and Jacob Oden, and sophomore Jordan Young, really improved in 2025. Michigan also added Memphis veteran Chris Bracy through the portal. If the Wolverines can get Rod Moore fully healthy and back on the field, that’s an even more complete unit.
Looking at highlights from BYU’s defense last season, it looks like Hill likes to vary how he uses his secondary. And when you look at Pro Football Focus (PFF), Hill had some of his secondary players at the top for rush defense, and that didn’t take away from how they graded out in coverage.
Take a look at this play from BYU cornerback Mory Bamba against Utah. He’s able to pick up a huge tackle despite starting well off the line of scrimmage. He uses his speed to pick up a huge fourth-down stop in the red zone. That’s something Hill should be able to capitalize on with his players at Michigan.
It’s not just Michigan’s short-yardage and red zone defense that has the potential to improve under Hill, it’s the takeaways, too. Last season, Jyaire Hill had several “almost” interceptions. Under Jay Hill, Jyaire Hill could live up to his potential in 2026. He, Curtis, Berry, Moore, Oden each had one interception — the unit is clearly competent when it comes to forcing turnovers. Pair that with a coordinator who focuses on that kind of play, and you’ve got a recipe for success.
Cornerback Evan Johnson led the way for the Cougars last season with five interceptions and a touchdown. A pair of those came in BYU’s game against East Carolina. He’s clearly got his eyes on the quarterback and has a sense of what he needs to make a big play for his team. While jumping a route comes with some risk, the reward is high. The Wolverines will face some of the most explosive offensive units in the Big Ten in 2026, and giving quarterbacks a reason to hesitate before throwing those passes is going to be huge.
Michigan’s secondary has the pieces to help Hill run the defense how he wants. The experience and leadership from veteran players, as well as the familiarity in the system from Snowden, can elevate the unit come the fall. I can’t wait to get an early look at the defense during the spring game on April 18.
Mobile crisis units roll out to help Detroiters in mental health or substance abuse need.
Mobile crisis units roll out to help people in need with mental health or substance abuse problems in Detroit.
Michigan is sending some of its most vulnerable children hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles away for mental health treatment because it has failed to build the capacity to care for them at home.
Michigan once had roughly 1,200 residential treatment beds for children. Today, there are fewer than 400.
That’s because facilities have closed, staff have left and costs have risen.
The falling apart of the system is impactful, especially given the increased amount of attention on this issue for nearly half a decade — since COVID wreaked havoc on youth and adult mental health in this state on top of what was already a social-media-induced mental health crisis among adolescents.
A growing number of children in severe mental health crisis or with complex psychological disorders are being placed in out-of-state facilities because there is nowhere for them to go in the state.
As of 2025, at least 152 Michigan youth were living in out-of-state placements — more than double the 74 in 2023, and up from 122 in 2024, according to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
Children suffering from severe mental health challenges typically need the support of family and friends. They don’t often require isolation from their natural support structures. Parents should be able to access and help their children who are suffering. That’s harder to do when the child is housed in another state.
The related costs for the arrangement was $13 million last year shared across state and federal funding streams.
Michigan must reinvest in its mental health system, especially for children and adolescents who were particularly affected by pandemic lockdowns and other policies.
By the time many of these kids enter the system, they are already in crisis. They are demonstrating concerning behavior, interacting with police, cycling through emergency rooms or entering the juvenile justice system. That is the most expensive, least effective point to intervene.
Rather than operating at the back end of the problem, Michigan must invest aggressively on the front end by expanding in-state residential capacity and strengthening and integrating community mental health services, so fewer children ever reach the point of needing institutional care.
Bipartisan lawmakers have pushed hundreds of millions of dollars into school safety and mental health funding. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has overseen an increase in funding mental health services and some important reforms, like the crisis hotline and a measure that allows mental health care to be covered as critically as physical health care.
But more is needed. Michigan must aggressively increase capacity and create incentives to attract and retain staff.
Instead, MDHHS is pushing a proposal that critics say would shift some patients with significant needs into categories typically handled by private insurance, blurring the lines of responsibility between Medicaid and community health programs and complicating the exhaustive bureaucracy for patients and providers.
“Hospitals and providers across the state have already warned that the framework’s training, billing and operational requirements could slow access to treatment,” the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan warned in a recent op-ed. “The impact would be a new strain on an already overextended behavioral health workforce.”
Fixing Michigan’s comprehensive mental health strategy is an urgent need that will require funding and a coordinated strategy that aligns state dollars, insurance coverage and community-based services so that care is continuous and effective.
The goal should be to build a system that assures Michigan children are treated in Michigan.
Four-star safety from Santa Margarita Catholic (Calif.) Pole Moala has named his top seven schools, with the Michigan Wolverines making the cut.
Moala, according to a report from Ethan McDowell of On3’s The Wolverine, visited campus earlier in the week for a few days with his family.
The California prospect is arguably the program’s top target at safety for the class of 2027 as the Wolverines reportedly sit in a strong position ahead of his June 19 official visit.
“It was great!!” Moala said to The Wolverine about the visit to Michigan. “Couldn’t be more grateful for the entire Michigan staff for the hospitality! I can definitely see myself coming back.”
Moala also told The Wolverine that Michigan is a top two school for him as he also visited Ole Miss later in the week.
He is the No. 167 overall prospect, the No. 18 safety and the No. 12 player in the state of California in the class of 2027, according to Rivals.
Moala’s scouting report
Director of Scouting at 247 Sports, Andrew Ivins, views Moala as a potential multi-year Power Four starter with NFL upside.
Ivins full evaluation of Moala on his 247 profile reads:
-Versatile defensive back with the ideal blend of athleticism and physicality.
-Moved from the class of 2028 to the class of 2027 where he’s age appropriate after a stellar 2025 campaign.-Projects best as a free safety that can clean up mistakes, but has the hip fluidity and cover talent to potentially hang at cornerback.
-Strikes in the alley and runs his feet through contact.
-Active eyes frequently has him beating the football to the catch point.
-Commits to angles, but can get caught over-pursing.
-Likely to eventually carry 200 pounds on a frame that’s believed to be hovering right around 5-foot-11.5, 185 pounds.
-Should be viewed as a potential multi-year starter in a Power Four secondary with NFL upside given the ball production and competitive temperament.
The Wolverines have clearly made the safety position a priority during this recruiting cycle, with Darell Mattison and Maxwell Miles already committing under the watch of head coach Kyle Whittingham.
If Michigan can seal the deal with Moala, that would be another step in the right direction in helping bolster the secondary in Whittingham’s first full class as head coach of the Wolverines.
Michigan currently has five players committed in its class of 2027 up to this point.
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