Michigan football's Kyle Whittingham on if he dislikes Ohio State: 'I do now'
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New Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham was born in San Luis Obispo, California, and has spent nearly his entire life out west.
He played his college ball at BYU. His five-year professional career was spent in Denver and Los Angeles, broken up by one season in New Orleans. As a coach, he has worked at BYU, Eastern Idaho, Idaho State and Utah.
Still, when he talks about how he fell in love with the sport of football, he cites the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.
“When I was seven years old, I’m sitting in my living room watching the football game by myself, and it just happened to be Michigan versus Ohio State,” Whittingham said. “I saw those winged helmets come out of the tunnel and Bo Schembechler leading them and playing against Woody Hayes, and I was hooked. I was hooked at that point, and that’s the honest truth.”
Well, not quite. When Whittingham was seven, Schembechler was still coaching at Miami University and would be for a couple more years. So that can’t be the “honest truth.” Whittingham, however, has indeed followed the Wolverines enough to know Michigan is a “place that just reeks of tradition.”
He also knows how Michiganders feel about their rival. When asked at his introductory press conference if he dislikes Ohio State, he answered, “I do now.”
There’s an irony, though. One of Whittingham’s mentors is the former Ohio State coach who famously went 7-0 against Michigan.
“I’ve had some good resources,” Whittingham said. “You know, Urban Meyer, I don’t know if that’s a four-letter word in this room or not, but Urban and me are very tight. Got some counsel from him.”
Meyer was the head coach at Utah in 2003 and 2004, and Whittingham was then the Utes defensive coordinator.
During Whittingham’s introductory press conference, he also addressed former Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford, who has held that same position at Michigan the past two seasons.
“Tremendous football coach,” Whittingham said. “I was blessed at Utah. His brother Aaron Alford, before he passed away, worked for us for several years. … Great family. Tony, I got a ton of respect for him, and we’ll see how things work out in that direction.”
Whittingham has faced the Buckeyes once in his head coaching career. In the 2022 Rose Bowl, No. 6 Ohio State beat the No. 11 Utes 48-45. Utah led 35-21 before OSU came back with help from wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba, who set the school single-game records for receiving yards (347) and receptions (15).
Reporter Dan Aulbach contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham discusses Ohio State ties
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