Whittingham’s culture pitch resonates with Michigan football leaders

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Michigan football might be preparing to face Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl but it's also ushering in a new era for the program.

New head coach Kyle Whittingham was introduced to the public on Sunday in Orlando, and though he won't be coaching in the bowl game (the extant staff, of course, will), he's already working to ingratitate himself to his new team.

Third-year tight end Zack Marshall hasn't yet met with Whittingham individually, but given that the new (to Michigan) coach has had a couple of opportunities to speak to his new squad, he's starting to make an impression. And you can count Marshall among the impressed.

"His biggest message that I took away was, you need this team more than this team needs you," Marshall said. "And he's an amazing person. 

"I remember when I was getting recruited to Utah out of high school, they were actually my No. 2. So, I mean, he's always been a great person. It's one of his selling factors, obviously. And he wins games. So, you win games, and you're a good person, no one's going to say no."

Though Utah was Marshall's No. 2 school as a recruit, he didn't have a ton of time with Whittingham. Even so, given the speculation that his brother could follow him from Salt Lake City to Ann Arbor, Marshall had already formed a bond with him during his recruitment.

Even more so, given the disparate nature of the previous regime, Marshall is excited to welcome what Whittingham brings to the table, and he hopes that what was sold at Utah will now be in Ann Arbor.

"He's everything you could ask for. What you see is what you get," Marshall said. "Obviously, mostly when you're in recruiting, you deal with your position coach more. So, his brother, Freddie Whittingham, was the guy recruiting me big time out of San Diego. And awesome dude, talked about his brother and how just family culture is everything.

"I remember being taken around by Dalton, Dalton Kincaid. I mean, he's pretty famous now. But at the time, he had just transferred in from USD. So, really, it's a family. He brought Dalton, made it a family culture. Even in my little time there, 10 hours to be exact, because I flew in and flew out the same day, it just felt like a real family culture there. And now, I'm hoping they bring it here."

Before Whittingham gets to work, however, the Wolverines do have a bowl game. Michigan will take on Texas on Wednesday at Camping World Stadium at 3 p.m. EST.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Kyle Whittingham already making strong impression on Michigan players

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