The days and weeks following Sherrone Moore’s firing was a stressful time for Michigan Wolverines fans, but the whole situation is proving to be for the best. A couple weeks after Moore was fired, Kyle Whittingham was hired to lead the program.
Whittingham has completely revamped the coaching staff, and top players are buying in. The “LFG147” campaign began earlier this week with key players announcing their return for the 2026 season, and one of them was quarterback Bryce Underwood.
There were a lot
of rumors floating around regarding Underwood’s future, and he himself even said he was going to have to think about it after the bowl game. After Whittingham first talked to Underwood, he was confident that QB1 would be staying home.
“I went down to the bowl site when they were down at the Citrus Bowl and sat down with Bryce — what a great young man and what a great attitude,” Whittingham said on The Rich Eisen Show. “He was saying all the right things, and I just had a good feeling at that time that he was more than likely going to return with us. That gives us a great start on retention and trying to make as many players in the program as we can stick with us.”
So far, Whittingham is doing a great job in that regard. Star wide receiver Andrew Marsh announced is back, as are offensive linemen Blake Frazier, Andrew Babalola and Evan Link. The Wolverines have also had multiple players withdraw from the transfer portal in offensive lineman Jake Guarnera and defensive back Zeke Berry.
Whittingham has the pieces, but there will be a lot of work to do this offseason to get this team ready for next fall. It all starts with Underwood — he clearly has all of the traits needed to be an elite player, but he does need work. Whittingham has a plan for him.
“The ceiling is so high,” Whittingham said of Underwood. “Jason Beck, our offensive coordinator, is an absolute master at developing the quarterback. Played quarterback. Quarterbacks that he has trained and worked with have all had success. … He’s (Underwood) in good hands here at Michigan, I can promise you that. Jason will make sure we smooth out some of the mechanics and some of the things he does need to work on.”
As the season went on, it became clear Underwood did need some mechanical work. When he did get his body set, he made some tremendous throws. However, we saw the opposite end of the spectrum numerous times in the Citrus Bowl, as he threw three interceptions and unraveled down the stretch of that game.
Whittingham went into detail regarding what exactly the coaching staff will be focusing on with Underwood.
“Little bit of footwork, little bit of the spine angle, the processing, going through the progressions,” Whittingham said. “One thing about Jason’s scheme — it’s very user-friendly. You don’t have to emerse yourself in it for a couple years before you get it. There’s not much of a learning curve. He knows exactly what he wants to do and how to get there.”
The work is far from over, but with Underwood and much of his supporting cast returning for the 2026 season, the future looks bright for Whittingham in Ann Arbor.
