Michigan Wolverines football head coach Kyle Whittingham helped make Utah a power out west, and is now tasked with getting the Maize and Blue back to ‘Champions Of The West.’

“I’m here to help this football team get to where we believe we can be,” Whittingham said on On3’s Crain And Cone. “I’m not here to change traditions or mess with that. The traditions here and the history is incredible, and it’s just steeped in tradition, this program. So, it’s not my place to meddle with that.

“We’re going to put a physical, tough product on the field. That’s the expectation at Michigan is to be physical and tough. That’s what we’re striving for.”

That process started in January, with Whittingham hiring his strength coach from Utah, Doug Elisaia.

“High-level athletes, like what we have here at Michigan and in Division-I football, seem to thrive on structure and discipline and a routine,” Whittingham said. “And you’ve got to be consistent. You can’t have highs and lows, you can’t be a rollercoaster. Players need to come into the facility every day, know what’s expected, know what’s expected at practice, know what’s expected in the weight room. They seem to thrive in a very structured environment. We certainly have that here.

“The first thing we did was overhaul the strength program, because a lot of the toughness and grit in the football team is developed in the strength program — and we feel we’ve got one of the best in the business in Doug Elisaia running our strength program.”

Bryce Underwood is a ‘mega talent’

The first meeting Whittingham had with a player was with sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood, a 6-foot-4, 228-pound Detroit native who started all 13 games last season. Underwood completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 2,428 yards and 11 touchdowns with 9 interceptions last season, adding 88 carries for 392 yards and 6 scores, including sacks.

Whittingham provided an update on how he’s performed this spring.

“First of all, he is a mega talent — his arm strength, his athleticism,” the Michigan coach said. “He’s 6-4-plus, 230 pounds. The way he runs. It’s incredible, the gifts that he’s been blessed with.

“Obviously, the first order of business is to learn the new scheme. We have a new scheme going in offensively. It’s not a sharp learning curve. It’s pretty user-friendly. But he’s got to get mastery of that. Once he has mastery of that, which he’s on the right track right now and doing a great job, now it’s just refining a few things with his mechanics and making sure that he completely has a grasp of what we’re doing and what we’re expecting.”

Two Michigan position groups standing out

Whittingham was asked which position groups are standing out most this spring, and first pointed to the running backs. There, junior Jordan Marshall is coming off a 150-carry, 932-yard, 10-touchdown season, even while missing time at the end of the year. Freshman Savion Hiter enrolled early and has turned heads, too, a five-star prospect.

“I really love our running back room,” Whittingham said. “We have Jordan Marshall coming back, who’s a proven commodity, and Savion Hiter, who was the top running back in the country in some polls. He’s really lived up to that. He was a mid-year guy, and he has looked terrific through his first six practices. [Senior] Bryson Kuzdzal is another guy in that room. So, we feel like we’ve got a very strong running back situation.”

Michigan’s defensive line is also strong, per Whittingham, despite returning just one starter, senior tackle Trey Pierce.

“Defensively, the front,” Whittingham said. “We feel like we have a good front coming back, and that’s something that is always critical. Your defense starts at the line of scrimmage, and we feel like we’ve got some dudes up front.”

SAINT PAUL, Minn. (KTTC) – Minnesota House leaders from both sides of the aisle are reviewing the conduct of two GOP representatives following a traffic stop last week.

Rep. Elliott Engen was arrested on suspicion of DWI. The Lino Lakes lawmaker has since been charged with a misdemeanor drunk driving offense.

According to a White Bear Lake police report, Engen denied drinking after officers stopped him early Friday morning. He later registered a 0.13 blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Also in Engen’s vehicle was Rep. Walter Hudson of Albertville, the report stated, and another passenger who has not been named.

Hudson told police that one of the alcohol bottles found in the vehicle belonged to him. He was also carrying a legal firearm. In Minnesota, it is against the law to carry a weapon with a BAC above 0.04.

Hudson has not been charged with any crime.

Both lawmakers have apologized in statements, with Engen writing that “poor choices were made.”

About 12 hours before the March 27 traffic stop, a former Minnesota House staffer—who held a nonpartisan position—posted a a photo of Engen and Hudson drinking alcohol at a St. Paul restaurant. According to Brian Basham, who worked as a public information services writer, the picture was taken around 2:30 p.m.

That was shortly before the start of a House floor session and during a time where both lawmakers were scheduled to be in a committee meeting. KARE 11, our NBC partner in the Twin Cities, reported archived video shows both members’ chairs vacant on the Republican side of the room for that meeting. The seats remained empty during testimony about a bill related to student attendance rates.

Jump to 3:30 p.m., Engen and Hudson were back in the Capitol, where they voted to block DFL proposals around limiting ICE and banning assault weapons. Both elected officials spoke publicly on the House floor.

DFL House leader Zack Stephenson called the situation a serious matter that deserves immediate attention.

In a statement, he asked, “Were Rep. Engen and Rep. Hudson intoxicated during the House floor session on Thursday, when votes were taken on critical public safety measures?”

House Speaker Lisa Demuth said she would be addressing the matter directly with the two members.

“The decisions made in this incident were unacceptable and fall short of the expectations I have for conduct of legislators,” she wrote in a statement.

Engen is seeking the GOP endorsement for the state auditor position.

The Minnesota legislature is on recess this week and will return to the Capitol on April 7.

Several state lawmakers from both parties have been arrested and charged for impaired driving offenses.

Most recently, DFL Sen. Tou Xiong of Maplewood pleaded guilty late last year for driving while intoxicated. He is not seeking reelection in 2026.

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