Kyle Whittingham was named the head coach of the Michigan football program on Friday night, and he pretty much immediately hopped on a plane to Orlando to meet with his new players as they prep for the Citrus
Bowl.
Some of the players have spoken publicly about their new head coach since the big news, and among them was Bryce Underwood. The freshman quarterback is wrapping up his first regular season in college, and not only is he eager to go out on a high note in the bowl game against Texas, but he is “excited” about the hire of Whittingham.
“I was actually pretty excited (to see the news),” Underwood said. “Just really excited to see what he does for the University of Michigan.
“Very excited to figure out what kind of guy he is. I don’t really know too much about him. I’m just excited to figure out what kind of guy he is.”
Underwood said all of that before the 45-minute conversation he had with Whittingham on Sunday morning before the head coach’s introductory press conference. Underwood should now have a decent idea what kind of person his new head coach is.
Another player that was asked about his new head coach is running back Jordan Marshall. He had some very strong remarks regarding Whittingham and acknowledged he was saying a lot of the “right things” to the team when he met with them for the first time over the weekend.
“Yeah, we got to talk to him (on Saturday),” Marshall said. “Good energy, did what the coach was supposed to say and said the right things. Brings intensity for sure, really like that about him. Definitely is somebody that the team — when I talk to guys, that they were like, this guy seems like he is going to be good. It’s supposed to be like that after the first impression.
“For me, I am just going to keep getting to know him, keep getting to know his staff and communicate with him. I want to be at Michigan, and if everything works out, I want to be here. I love this place, truly.”
This is a great perspective from Marshall. While Whittingham seems to have made a good first impression on Marshall, he is going to continue getting to know him and what type of coach and person he is. It’s also very reassuring to hear Marshall wants to stick around — he had a great first fully healthy season with the Wolverines in 2025, rushing for 932 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had four straight games late in the year where he ran for least 100 yards, and that streak only broke because he left the Ohio State game early on due to an injury.
Speaking with MGoBlue’s Ed Kengerski, offensive lineman Blake Frazier said he is also looking forward to Whittingham being his head coach.
“I’m excited about it, I like him,” Frazier said. “I think it really is a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of situation. I’m excited to create a relationship with him and go from there.”
Fraizer also detailed the message Whittingham gave the players when they met with him for the first time on Saturday night.
“He was explaining to us what we’re gonna get from him, but also what he expects from us. I think he understands that there’s some work to do with creating relationships, and quickly, with the portal opening and everything. But I think he did a great job with getting everybody on board.”
Also speaking with Kengerski, safety Brandyn Hillman called Whittingham a “nice dude” and a “player’s coach for sure.” He also acknowledge how he is a “straight-forward” guy that doesn’t beat around the bush.
“He’s glad to be here — I can see that he’s glad to be here, glad to be the coach of the University of Michigan,” Hillman said. “I can’t wait to see what’s gonna happen, I ain’t gonna lie.”
Senior linebacker Jimmy Rolder was asked about Whittingham during a press conference in Orlando. It sounds like Rolder hasn’t had the chance to have a 1-on-1 conversation with his new head coach yet, as he said it was “more of a brief introduction” and that “the conversations you are looking for are coming down the road.”
All in all, there have been no bad things said about Whittingham. That isn’t surprising, as there are plenty more conversations to be had between him and his new players. But the early returns appear to be positive as he gets to work retaining his roster — which he said is “job No. 1” — for the 2026 season.
