He will not coach Michigan in the Citrus Bowl this week, but new coach Kyle Whittingham joined the Wolverines in Florida to begin his first and most pressing mission.
Specifically, he’s fighting to win over players before they opt to enter the transfer portal following the bowl game against Texas on Wednesday.
“College football is all about the players. If you’ve got good players, you’ve got a chance,” Whittingham said Sunday.
Whittingham was introduced in Orlando where interim coach Biff Poggi is in charge of the bowl preparation and game day against the Wolverines.
Whittingham said he met with quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025 who is wrapping up his freshman season and undecided about staying in Ann Arbor to play for a new coaching staff. Whittingham said his message to the 18-year-old Underwood was stressing his ideal fit in the incoming offensive system.
“The offense we’re bringing here, I think, is going to suit him to a tee,” Whittingham said. “And I think he’s going to really, really excel and have a great experience here.”
Underwood flipped his commitment from LSU to his home state of Michigan during his senior season at Belleville High
“A quarterback’s got to have an ‘it’ factor, and he’s got it,” Whittingham said.
Whittingham, 66, was hired last week to take over at Michigan and signed a five-year contract 16 days after Sherrone Moore was fired with cause after two years as head coach. He was 177-88 as head coach at Utah and said he couldn’t turn down the chance to re-establish Michigan.
“I could count on one hand the number of jobs I would have said ‘Yes’ to and Michigan was one of them,” Whittingham said. “I believe in family. We’ve got an adage as coaches ‘we love the players and players love each other’ … if you can get that done, you’re halfway home.
“There is nobody above the team, and you got to have everybody buy in — and everybody, including myself, lead this team.”
