Whittingham’s staff ties to the Midwest will help greatly in recruiting

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Michigan finished just outside the top-10 with its 2026 recruiting class. After all the turmoil the Wolverines dealt with this offseason, it was nice to see Kyle Whittingham retain as many freshmen as he did. Given his track record at Utah and what we’ve learned about his work ethic, it shouldn’t be that surprising.

It’s only the start of spring practice, but the offseason conversation is going to turn to football recruiting rather quickly. We expect things to pick up in the summer when official visits get underway, so there’s plenty of time for Whittingham to bring in some of the best players to Ann Arbor. In the new age of NIL and revenue sharing, Michigan has a lot of pieces in place to make an enticing offer for some of the best players in the country.

One of the concerns from Michigan fans when Whittingham was hired was if he would be able to recruit players in the Midwest, given he has only coached in the western part of the country. Today’s day and age of NIL will certainly help Michigan be able to recruit any player regardless of where they are from, but Whittingham also brought in a few assistant coaches that have strong ties to the Midwest to specifically help with the players in the surrounding states.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard from some of Whittingham’s assistant coaches on the “In the Trenches” podcast. Most recently, defensive tackles coach Larry Black’s interview was full of passion, and it’s clear he loves coaching and understands the significance of being at Michigan. It doesn’t hurt that his brother played at Michigan and, according to Black, asks him daily how they’re working to beat the Buckeyes. Black is originally from Ohio and played college football at Indiana.

It’s not just the ties to the university, as there are other coaches with strong connections to the Midwest, including offensive line coach Jim Harding and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. Harding is from Ohio and his wife is from the Metro Detroit area. Meanwhile, Detmer grew up with former Michigan offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr. and has heard stories about playing for the Wolverines. While Whittingham may have spent his whole career out west, he’s smartly surrounded himself with people who are able to easily recruit players in the Midwest to Michigan.

These are the types of assistant coaches that can show that playing at Michigan is much more than just a paycheck.

We are all adjusting to the new era of college football. For many of us, the portal has pulled back the veil of team loyalty and ruined the appeal of college athletics. Looking at Whittingham’s hires, though, it’s possible to see how these guys could bring in the kids who grew up wanting to play for the Wolverines. Michigan found in-state recruiting success when they managed to get Bryce Underwood. Just this week, Whittingham also pointed out how Saline native, quarterback Tommy Carr, is standing out in practice.

Despite the coaching turnover, it’s easy to see how Michigan’s new coaching staff will continue to heavily recruit in Michigan and the surrounding region. While it’s good to see some of the transfers following Whittingham for the 2026 season, it’s even better to see coaches who could help with a long-term recruiting strategy.

What are your thoughts on the coaching staff and how it could play into recruiting? Let us know down in the comments section below!

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